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CONTRIBUTIONS 

r 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS 



^\ 



Historical Association, 



LOWELL. MASS. 



ORGANIZED DECEiNIBER 21, 1868. 



VOL. VI. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, JANUARY, 1904. 



Tis greatly wise lo talk ivilJi our past /loiirs.'" — Young- 



LOWELL, MASS. 

Courier-Citizen Company, Printers. 

1904, 



CONTKNTS. 

Vol. VI. 



Page 



Annual Address and Report. By Benjamin Walker, 

President. Read May, 1894 7 

Annual Address and Report. By Benjamin Walker, 

President. Read May, 1895 75 

Annual Report for 1895-96. By Solon W. Stevens, 

Vice-President. Read May, 1896 257 

Annual Report. By Solon W. Stevens, Vice-President. 

Read May, 1897 165 

Annual Report for 1897-98. By Solon W. Stevens, 

President. Read June, 1898 266 

Annual Report for 1898-99. By Solon W. Stevens, 

President 323 

Annual Report for 1 899-1 900. By Solon W. Stevens, 

President. Read May, 1900 335 

Annual Report for 1 900-1 901. By Solon W. Stevens, 

President. Read May, 1901 355 

Annual Report for 1901-1902. By Solon W. Stevens, 

President. Read May, 1902 362 

By-Laws, Report of Committee on. December 26, 1901. 446 

By-Laws of Lowell Historical Society 459 

By-Laws, Acceptance of and Certificate of Incorporation. 

May, 1 902 468 

Cheney, Cleveland J., Biographical Sketch of. By 

James Francis. Read May, 1896 113 

Concord and Lexington, April, 1775. By P2phraim 

Brown. Read May, 1894 19 

Contents, Contributions to the Old Residents' Historical 

Association, Entire Series, Vols. I-VI 471 

Cotton and Woolen Industries at East Chelmsford. 

Before the Power Loom. By Z. K. Stone. Read 

December, 1894 46 

Court, Rev. Robert, D. D. By Charles Cowley, LL. D. 

Read June, 1898 207 



9 



CONTENTS — VOL. VI. 



Page. 

Eliot, Jolip.. Work at Wamesit. By Charles Cowley, 

LL. D. Read December, 1S97 220 

Folks at the Neck in Ye Olden Time. Bv Henry S. 

Perham. Read December, 1897 234 

Illustrations, List of. Contained in the .Six Volumes of 

Contributions to tlie Old Residents' Historical 

Association 480 

Middlesex Mechanics' Association, Sketch of. By 

Hon. Frederick Lawton. Read January, 1899. . . . 279 

Old Residents' Historical Association. Officers 3, 35i 

Our Local Geolr>ory. j^y Harriette Rea. Read Decem- 
ber, 1894 33 

Papers from Chelmsford Records, Copies of. By Henry 

S. Perham 253 

Pooler, Deacon Seth. By Jarnes S. Ru'^sell. Read 

February, 1897 148 

Public Monuments of LoweTl. By Charles Cowley. 

Read May, 1 895 96 

Sachems of Merrimack River Indians, Last of. By 

Charles Cowley, LL. D. Read May, 1891 376 

Stone, Zina E By Alfred )'. !^n\vyer, Esq. Read 

May, 1901 428 

Vox Populi. 1841-1896. ]^y Z. E. Stone. Read 

December, 1897 172 

Walker, Benjamin, Biographical Sketch of. By So1(mi 

W. Stevens, P2sq. Read February, 1897 121 

Wamesit Purchase, The. By Henrv S. Perham. Read 

P'ebruary, 1 897 125 

Wright, Hapgood, Life and lousiness Career of. By 

Benjamin Walker I55 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 



Historical Association, 



LO\VBL.L, MASS. 



OE>J(t^N1ZEO OKCKVIBER 1^1, IH^R. 



Vol. VI, No. 1. 



ITHLISHEI) HV llIE ASSOCIATION, APRIL, iSo6. 



'J'is j^Ttn/Zv :,'/.•!(■ to talk loitli our past hours." — Yot.'Nci 



I>OVVELL, MASS.: 
COURIKR-< ITIZEN COMPANY, PRINTKR.S, 

I8!)6. 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 



Historical Association, 



LOWBLL, IVIASS, 



7 -h "^" 



ORGANIZED DECEIVIBER 21, 1868. 



Vol. VI, No. 1. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, APRIL, 1896. 



" ' Tis greatly wise to talk ivith our past hours.'" — Young. 



,vP 



^' 




OFKICKRS. 



Benjamin Walker, President. 

Ephraim Brown, Vice-President. 

Clarence \V. Whidden, Secretary and Treasurer. 



KXECr:TIVE CO^vI^^IITTEE. 



J. G. Peabody. Hapgood Wright. 

E. B. Howe. Z. E. Stone. 

A. S. Tyler. Charles Cowley. 

Samuel P. Hadley. Benjamin Walker. 

Samuel Horn. Ephraim Brown. 

Jacob B. Currier. John H. McAlvin. 



CONTKNTS. 



I. Annual Address and Report. By Benjamin Walker, President, Read 

May 15, 1894 7 

II. Concord and Lexington, April 19, 1775. The Crisis, the Dates, the 

Bridge, the Men. By Ephraim Brown. Read May 15, 1894 . 19 

III. Our Local Geology. By Harriette Rea, Read Dec. 18, 1894 . . 33 

IV. Before the Power Loom, or The Earliest Cotton and Woollen Indus- 

tries at East Chelmsford and Vicinity and their Promoters. By 

Z. E. Stone. Read Dec. 18, 1894. ...... 46 

V. Annual Address and Report. By Benjamin Walker, President. Read 

May 21, 1895 75 

VI. Public Monuments of Lowell. By Charles Cowley, L. L. D. Read 

May 21, 1895 96 

VII. Biographical Sketch of the Life of Cleveland J. Cheney.' By James 

Francis. Read at the Annual Meeting, May 26, 1896. . 113 



/. Annual A(Mress and Report. Bj/ Benjamin Walker 
President , Bead May /.T, 1S94. 



During the last twelve mouths the Old Kesideuts' 
Historical Associatiou has completed the first quarter of 
a century of its existence. That the purposes for which it 
was organized and the objects which it has attained in 
placing upon permanent record a great amount and vari- 
ety of valuable historical information relating to the city 
of LoAvell, together with its early founders and many 
of the leading spirits who have encouraged its enterprises 
and shaped its destinies, the five volumes of its published 
papers very fully attest. The Lowell of 1822, with its 
single system of cotton mills (the Merrimack Manu- 
facturing Company), and its sparsely settled surround- 
ings, with flourishing forest trees, where are now located 
its principal business streets and finest buildings, both 
public and private, and the Lowell of 1894, with its 80,000 
or more inhabitants, and its wonderful development of so 
much in art and science that pertains to the production of 
what may be regarded as human requirements and 
human necessities, is in most marked contrast. 

These great business enterprises thus centered in 
' Lowell, as all will admit, have attracted to it, from 
the beginning, men of rare and eminent talents, in the 
varied walks of business and professional life, and many 
who continue to be identified with it, notwithstanding 
they have long since "gone to their reward." Its system 
of public education deservedly ranks among the highest 
in the scale of national excellence, and for which indeed 
the whole country is noted; its newspaporial variety and 
excellence in the dissemination of the current literature 



8 OLD RESIDENTS' HlsmRICAL ASSOCIATION. 



au(l events of the day, seem to be unrivalled, and Ave now 
really are, in the truest sense, a great city. To keep pace 
with it, in perpetuating its history, in maintaining the 
dignity and importance which it has acquired, is, I take 
it, in no small degree, the business and province of this 
Association. To do this properly and successfully, each 
nu^mber should not only esteem it a duty but a j^rivilege 
to contribute something to the general good, either 
directly or otherwise, and not depend wholly upon the 
(►fficers and the comparatively few by Avhoni this labor, in 
the past, has been performed. It is not altogether the 
great events which should be inscribe<l, but it is the 
minor matters and the little incidents which will con- 
tinue to enliven the pages of its history, and give force 
and character in the future to that Avhich has seemed so 
commonplace and perhaps almost trivial in the past. I, 
therefore, desire, more than ever, if possible, to emphasize 
this fact, for the reason that a quarter of a century has 
greatly depleted our ranks, s(> far as the original mem- 
bership is concerned, and with each succeeding death are 
taken some interesting facts and reminiscences never to 
be regained, but forever lost. Who of us is there who 
will not acknowledge the interest attached and pleasure 
derived, upon hearing, as we all often have, some slight 
reference to the incidents and perhaps the pleasantries of 
fifty years ago, bringing before us, as they have, the well 
remembered form and characteristics of perha])s some 
old and well-tried friend, and how such events warm our 
hearts ;ind renew^ our interest in the happiness of those 
early days ? Think of these tilings, my friends, and let 
not your own opportunities pass unimproved. 

While for twenty-five years there has been no want 
of contributions for our quarterly meetings, yet with the 
reflection that a generation has now passed away since 
they were commenced, there would seem to be a neces- 
sity, while the o])portunities and the siibiects are by no 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND REPORT. 9 



meaus exhausted, for new contributors from whom 
papers Avill be gratefully ami gladly accepted. 

Two years ago a suggestiou was made, and a vote 
passed, admitting ladies to membershi]) of this Asso- 
ciation, in the hope that, as in every otlier ]>lace where 
admitted, they would infuse a zeal into its ranks, as well 
as strengthen its literary excellence. That this would be 
the outcome of their natural activity there can be no 
doubt, but with so much innate modesty, and i)erliaps an 
insufficient gal-lantry, on the part of us "Lords of 
creation," we have not yet gathered the harvest so fondly 
anticipated. That this state of things is all our own 
fault, there cannot be the slightest doubt. I can there- 
fore only renew the hope that some stejis may be taken, 
and some methods devised, whereby a goodly number of 
ladies may be added to our ranks, and also to our list of 
literary contributors, upon subjects which will not fail 
to be as interesting as the source from which they may 
emanate. 

The present headquarters of the Association are, in 
many respects, exceedingly pleasant and desirable. For 
its quarterly meetings and business purposes, the Board 
of Trade rooms are centrally situated, making the same 
easy of access, well arranged, and in every way enjoyable. 
Whether its library, now so isolated, would not ]>rove 
more valuable in nearer proximity to our public library, 
or that of the Middlesex Mechanics Association, and thus 
within access and easy reach of all desiring to consult its 
volumes, is a matter which may possibly be Avorth future 
consideration. The Memorial Building naturally sug- 
gests itself as the proper place for the belongings of tlie 
Old Residents' Historical Association and one which 
would readily afford the facilities which the library is 
intended to provide. In the present anomalous condition 
of that building and its hall, however, with regard to 
occupancy, the general mission of its managers would 



10 OLD KESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



seem to be to jihu-e ull ])0S8ible obstacles in the way of its 
use by the public, by whom and for whom it was built, or 
by any society or orojanization deyoted so nearly as is 
ours to public purj^oses, and intended, almost wholly, to 
promote the public good and general welfare of our city. 
In this connection allow me to suggest the propriety of 
haying the library properly arranged and catalogued, as 
this will materially add to its yalue, in the facility 
afforded for consulting its yolumes. 

That the future success, prosperity, and financial 
strength of this Association must depend upon the actiye 
consideration of the seyeral topics to which allusion has 
been herein made, there can be no reasonable doubt, and 
that it still has an important mission in carrying for- 
ward a work so auspiciously begun, and which giyes 
promise of so much in the future, is equally certain. Let 
us see to it, therefore, that no opportunity be lost for its 
increased and permanent adyancement. 

During the last year this Association has lost six 
members by death, as follows : — 

1. JABEZ EDWARDS was born February 14th, 
1815, in Weare, N. H., came to Lowell Noyember 23rd, 
1834, and died October 19th, 1893, aged 78 years. Two 
days after his arriyal in Lowell he entered the repair 
shop of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, where 
he remained about three years, when he accepted the 
position of second-hand in No. 2 carding room. Some 
three years later he was promoted to the position of 
oyerseer, Ayhich he held until August, 1881, when he 
retired from actiye business. During the forty-seyen 
rears of his continuous seryice, Mr. Edwards was 
entirely conyersant with all the changes, remodellings, 
and improyements made in this great corporation, in 
regard to its buildings, machinery, etc. ; saw the 
changes in its operatiyes from 1834, then almost exclu- 
siyely Xew England men and women, but nearly all 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND REPORT. 1 1 



since supplanted bv foreigners. He was employed under 
the following- distinguislied agents of the Merrimack 
Manufacturing Company, viz. : — Kirk Boott (at that time 
treasurer), John Clark, Emory Washburn, Edward Le 
Bretton, Isaac Hinckley, John C. Palfrey, and its present 
efficient manager, Joseph S. Ludlam. This includes all 
except Ezra Worthen and Warren Colburn, who died 
previous to 1834. Mr. Edwards was also one of the only 
four persons Avho had been employed by this company as 
lono- as himself when he retired from active service. The 
names of the other three are AYillard Welch, David M. 
Collins, and Phineas Stanley. On the retirement of Mr. 
Edwards he was presented by Mr. Charles H. Dalton, 
treasurer, through Mr. Ludlam, agent, a very valuable 
gold watch and chain, accompanied with a letter highly 
appreciative of the services he had rendered the com- 
pany, and in return Mr. Edwards expressed his profound 
gratitication for the kind words and expressions of 
regard with which he had been so honored. 

Mr. Edwards was married October 22nd, 1839, to 
Elizabeth H. Bean, of Lowell, by the late Rev. Theodore 
Edson, D. D., and both have always been faithful and 
devoted members of St. Anne's Church. In 1889 this 
worthy couple celebrated their golden wedding, which 
was an occasion of much pleasure to the great number 
of his relatives and friends who participated therein. 

Although modest and rt^iring in his character, even 
to diffidence, Mr. Edwards was the very embodiment of 
manliness and integrity in all his business affairs. In 
private life his virtues were those of uniform kindness, 
o-entleness, and consideration for the feelings of others, 
and he died, as he had lived his long and useful life, 
universally respected and beloved. Mr. Edwards never 
held public office. 

2. SAMUEL B. SIMONDS was born March 7th, 



12 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



180G, ill Lincoln, came to Lowell Ai»ril 1st, 1831, and died 
November 20tli, 1893, aged 87 rears and 8 months. 

Mr. Simonds first engaged in the crockeiy business 
on Merrimack Street, with his brother John, in which he 
continued for several years. He afterwards located on 
Central Street, where he pursued the occupation of book- 
binder for more than thirtv rears. From Julr 4th, 
1858, to Februaiy IGth, 1883, he was enrolled as a 
member of High Street Oliurch, and within the same 
period served many years as sexton, which office he 
filled with marked acceptance and ability. Mr. Simonds 
remored to Pawtucketrille in 1873, and ten rears later 
transferred his membership to the Pawtucket Church, 
where he continued during the remainder of his life, 
holding the offices of deacon and clerk. The records of 
both High Street and Pawtucket churches show him to 
hare been of a historical turn of mind, learing much of 
ralue, as he did, relatire to both the abore named 
churches. Mr. Simonds nercn- married. 

3. LEONARD WORCESTER was born Norember 
5th, 1813, in Salem, came to Lowell in March, 1846, and 
died December 23rd, 1893, aged 80 years. Upon first 
coming to Lowell Mr. Worcester was employed by John 
Putney, a tailor on Merrimack Street, where he remained 
about two years. From 1848 to 185() lie was in the 
employ of Hugh McEroy, a well known tailor on Central 
Street, at wliich latter date he became associated with 
Alfred (xiliiian, under the firm name of Gilinan c\: 
Worcester, continuing in the same line of business until 
1860. He was then employed for a short time by Edwin 
C. Leslie. Early in 1861 he took charge of the business 
of Capt. Benj. F. Warren, manufacturer of clothing at 
Industrial ILill (formerly the Wesleyan Methodist 
Episcopal Church), Prescott Street, subsequently purchas- 
ing the same, where he remained until 1873, when he 
remored to Stott's P>lock, ^Middlesex Strei4. Here he 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND REPOP.r. 13 



remained until 1878, when he retired from active business. 

The earlier years of Mr. Worcester's life were 
passed in Montpelier, Vt., Bedford, Hanover and Con- 
cord, N. IL, at A\hich latter place he was an associate 
employe of the Hon. Levi P. Morton, afterwards Vice 
President of the United States. He was also cousin of 
Joseph E. Worcester, author of Worcester's English 
Dictionary. 

On the 17th of June, 1835, Mr. Worcester married 
Minerva A., daughter of Ebenezer Carpenter, of Sharon, 
Vermont, by whom he had seven children, of whom four 
are still living. Upon coming to Lowell lie located at 
what is now known as No. 92 Bartlett Street, where he 
continued to reside until the day of his death, and 
where his family still remain. He celebrated his golden 
wedding on the 17th of June, 1885. 

Mr. W^orcester was singularly gentle and agreeable 
in his manners, a most exemplary citizen, an earnest 
Christian, and a very highly esteemed member of High 
Street Church, of which he was treasurer about twenty 
years. He never sought nor held public office. He was, 
however, a member of Oberlin Lodge, I. O. O. F., Wanna- 
lancit Encampment, and for fifty years was prominently 
identified with its benevolent and charitable works. 

4. SAMUEL KIDDEPt was born August 3rd, 1821, 
in Charlestown, came to Lowell December 5th, 1813, 
and died February 15th, 1894, aged 72 years and 
months. In company with a partner he purchased of 
Christopher Skelton the apothecary store at the corner 
of Merrimack and John streets, his partner soon after 
retiring, where he continued in business until 18G5. At 
this time he was succeeded by Messrs. F. & E. Bailey, 
and became a partner in the firm of Page, Kidder & Co., 
dealers in flour and grain on Thorndike Street, the firm 
subsequently being changed to Coggin & Kidder. From 
this firm he retired several years ago, and also at the 



1 4: OLD RESIDENTS* HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



same time from active business. At tlie time of his 
death Mr. Kidder was a vice president of the Lowell Insti- 
tution for Havings and a director of the Wamesit National 
Bank. He was a man of the strictest integrity, quiet 
and unobtrusive in his disposition, and never held public 
office. 

5. GEORGE S. GUSHING was born June 6th, 182.-5, 
at Stanstead Plain, P. Q., came to Lowell in April, 184."), 
and died February 23rd, 1894, aged 68 years and 8 
months. Mr. Gushing first found employment at Lowell 
in the dressing department of the Massachusetts Mills. 
Two or three years later (in 1849), and during the early 
history of the gold excitement, he left for Galifornia, 
where he remained about two years, when he returned to 
this city and began the manufacture of soda and other 
temperance beverages at Pentucket Springs, then a cele- 
brated source for pure water. After leaving this 
business he engaged in several enterprises, at one time 
being interested in the sale of clothing and furnishing 
goods on Merrimack Street, and afterwards in the Thorn- 
dike Manufacturing Company. In 1865 he was con- 
nected with a hat manufacturiug establishment at 
Methueu, Mass., later in ^^ermont copper mines, the 
Monson slate quarries, and mica mines in Maine. In 
1881 he was a paper manufacturer, at West Derby, 
Vermont. Wliile in Monson he superintended the con- 
struction of a railroad, eight miles in length. At one 
time, date not ascertained, he manufactured soda 
fountains in Boston, subsequently engaging in the soda 
business at Manchester, England. 

Mr. Gushing was a member of the Gommon Gouncil 
in 1877-78, and of the Board of Aldermen in 1882. He 
was seven years a member of the Board of Overseers of 
the Poor. In 1893 he was appointed a member of the 
Board of Assistant Assessors for two years. He was a 
])rominent member of Ancient York Lodge of Free 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND REPORT. 15 



Masons, of Mechanics Lodge of Odd Fellows, and at the 
time of his death was collector for the First Universalist 
Church. In private life Mr. Gushing was universally 
esteemed for his marked social qualities and genial dis- 
position, having a pleasant smile and kind word for all 
with whom he came in contact. 

(). BICKFORD LANG wvas born April 23rd, 1823, 
in Limerick, Maine, came to Lowell October 1st, 1852, and 
died April 11th, 1894, aged 70 years, 11 months and 18 
daj^s. Upon arriving in Lowell Mr. Lang Avas made 
superintendent of the Gity Farm, to which place he had 
been previously elected, where he remained for eight 
years. He then became a member of the police depart- 
ment, serving from 1860 to 1862 as deputy, and from 1862 
to 1871 as city marshal. Since 1873, and up to the date 
of his death, Mr. Lang held the office of truant commis- 
sioner, having been in constant service of the city of 
Lowell for the period of forty-two years. In all these 
public positions Mr. Lang, always kind, gentle and 
liumane, was at the same time faithful and efficient, and 
when occasion required he displayed an energy and 
firmness wdiich wielded great power and intiuence over 
the many wayward characters with whom he had to 
deal, and was in fact, as such an officer should be, a 
" terror to evil-doers. " In private life his character was 
irreproachable. Mr. Lang was a member of the Ancient 
York Lodge of Free Masons, Mount Horeb Koyal Arch 
Ghapter, and Pilgrim Gommandery, and was connected 
with the Faith Ghapel Ghurch, on Ghelmsford Street. 

JONATHAN P. FOLSOM, whose name was inadver- 
tently omitted in last year's annual report, Avas born 
October 9th, 1820, at Tannvorth, N. H., came to Lowell in 
May, 1840, and died February 23rd, 1893, aged 72 years 
and 4 months. Mr. Folsom Avas long and prominently 
identified with the dry goods trade in our city, having for 
nianv vears a store on Merrimack Street, during Avhich. 



16 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



period lie Avas several times a member of the City 
(loverniiieiit, serving- as conncilman, alderman, and twice 
as mayor. In an article published in the first volume of 
Contributions to the Old Kesidents' Historical Associa- 
tion, entitled " The Mayors of Lowell, " Avhich originally 
a]^pear(Ml in the columns of the Vox Po])uli, Mr. Z. E. Stone 
being then editor, ma.y be found a biographical sketch of 
Mr. Folsoiii, which it would seem unnecessary here to 
reproduce. 

The contributions to the library of the Old Residents' 
Historical Association, since the last annual report, have 
been as follows : — 

Transactions and Report Nebraska State Historical 
Society, Vol. 5, 1898. 

Bulletin No. 101, University of California. 

Massachusetts Farm Laws, 1S93, Massachusetts 
Society for Promoting Agriculture. 

Chicago Historical Society, quarterly meeting, Jan- 
uary, 1891. 

Annual Report, 1894, Buffalo Historical Society. 
The Lawrencian, Lawrence Academy, Groton. Cen- 
tennial number, June, 1893. 

Tyngsborough (Mass.) Men in the ^^'ar of the 
Rebellion, by the editor, J. Frank Bancroft. 

Unveiling of the Bronze Memorial Group of the 
Chicago Massacre of 1812. Chicago Historical Societv. 
1893. 

Proceedings of the State Historical Societv, of 
Wisconsin, December, 1893. 

Annual Report, University of California, for 1893. 
Publications Rhode Island Historical Society, Ai)ril, 
1891. 

Records and Papers of the New London ((^mn.) 
Historical Society, Part ."i, Vol. 1, 1894. 



ANXFAL ADDRESS AXD KFU'OHT. 17 



Dedhaiii Historical Kejj;istei's, April, Jnly, and 
October, 1893. 

University of New York State Library Bulletin, 1894. 

University of New York, 75th Annual Re])ort of the 
New York State Libran, 1892. 

Report of the I'resident of Yale University, Decem- 
ber, 1893. 

Cataloone of Yale University. 

An Essay on the Preservation of Roadside Trees, 
Massachusetts Society for Promotin<>' A<j;riculture, by 
James Draper of the Worcester Parks Commission. 

Oration bv Elisha Bartlett before the municipal 
authorities and the citizens of Lowell, July 4, 1848. 
Presented bv Miss Lvdia Bedlow of Lowell. 

Translations and Reprints from original sources of 
European History. No. 1, Vol. 1, relating to the Early 
Refornuition Period. Edited by Edward 1*. Ghe3'ney, 
A. M., Philadelphia, 1894. 

Lowell City Documents, 1892 and 1893. Citv Clerk, 
Lowell. 

A memoir of John Montgomery Batchelder, by John 
Trowbridge. Contributed by Miss Batchelder. 

Papers by Dr. Samuel Green, secretary of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society. Contributed by him, 
as follows : 

Remarks before the Massachusetts Historical Soci- 
ety, in contributing a diary by William Nutting of 
Groton, Mass. (1752 to 1832), from 1777 to 1804. 

Remarks on Nonacoicus, 1893. 

Papers relating to Capt. Thomas Lawrence's 
Company of Groton, Mass., during the French and Indian 
Wars of 1758. Published 1890. 

Early Land Grants of Groton, Mass. 

Groton and the Witchcraft Times. 



18 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The foregoing books and i>amplilets, like the many 
which have been receiyecl in previous years, form a most 
interesting feature of our library, treating, as they do, of 
a great range and variety of subjects, very closely allied 
to those which give to our association its special historical 
interest and iuijxtrtance. 



II. Concord and Lexington, April lU, ITT-"). The Crisis, 
the Dates, the Bridge, the Men. Ihj Ephntim 
Brown. Read Mai/ /.7, lSi)4. 



The recent Lowell Old Residents' Historical Associ- 
ation records read as follows : 

A^'hereas, a direct and forcible resistance to the 
authority of James the Second was the seizure and 
imprisonment of Goyernor Andross in Boston, the 
capture of the fort on Beacon Hill, and the capture of the 
British friii'ate in Boston Bay — all on the 19th day «>f 
April, 1689 ; 

And whereas, the British troops were resisted, 
repulsed, routed and sent flying from the North Bridge in 
Concord, on the 19th day of April, 1775 ; 

And whereas, the sons of liberty and union success- 
fully passed through Baltimore, amid storm, riot, blood- 
shed and murder, April 19, 1801 ; 

Resolved, that the Old Residents' Historical 
Association of Lowell, Mass., do by its committee, 
appointed for that purpose, emphatically recommend the 
enactment for a legal holiday, in the place of the annual 
Fast Day, for all the future, the 19th day of April, from 
and after the year 1894. 

The enactment has passed, the fact has been accom- 
plished, and April 19th is now and hereafter is to be a 
legal holiday forever. The 19tli of April is the most 
remarkable and memorable of any day in tlie history of 
this nation. It is a greater day than the Ith of July, 
because the inception is greater than the consummation 
and precedes it. No other day in the year has coinci- 



20 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



(lence so remarkable either in times or events. Tlie most 
impoi-tant movements in the history of America met on 
this date. 

It was on the 19th day of April, 1G03, that the first 
house was built by the English, on a small island in 
Buzzards Bay. It was on the IDth day of April, 1GS9, 
that the liberty of this nation was conceived by the 
capture of Andross, the fort and the frigate. It was on 
the 19th day of April, '1775, that American liberty was 
born, at the North Bridge. It was on the 19th day of 
April, 18C1, that American liberty was redeemed, in 
Baltimore. And April 19, 1891, American liberty was 
glorified in the celebration in Concord. Wonderful 
events ! ^>'on(lerful date ! But there is a greater wonder 

still. 

If there Avere only these coincidences,they areenougli 
to make April 19th the most notable day in the history 
of this republic. But look at these figures again. From 
April 19, 1G03, to April 19, 1689, is eighty-six years. 
From April 19, 1689, to April 19, 1775, is eighty-six years. 
Again : from April 19, 1775, to April 19, 1861, is eighty- 
six years. Here are six remarkable coincidences, all 
relating to April 19th. Again : since April 19, 1775, to 
this date, is 119 years. The figures 3, 6 and 9 thus enter 
many times into the dates of this republic, and seem 
()uite as significant and comprehensive as Daniel's vision 
of " Time, times and half a time. " 

The nation A\ill never forget the crises, the places, 
nor the actors. James G. Blaine declared : "Sentiment 
has its place. We stimulate the ardor of patriotism by 
the mere display of a flag which has no material force, 
but which is emblematic of all material force and typifies 
the glory of the nation. We stir the ambition of the 
living by securing costly monuments to the heroic dead. 
The road from Concord to Lexington is a monument all 
the way." Solomon declared that "the glorv of children 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. 21 



are the fathers. " Disraeli Avrote, " It is the personal 
that interests. " Our late President, Dr. John O. Green, 
when I objected to liim that personals were all I could 
write, exclaimed : " Personals are just what we want. " 
These are mj model and my authority for the presenta- 
tion of this paper. 

My ancestral family did uuuh Aj^ril 19, 1775. The 
histories of the conspicuous leaders of that day have 
been published. But they could have done nothing 
without other leaders and the workers. The hull of the 
ship is mostly out of sight ; the sails are in sight and 
attract most attention. What is below the sails is of 
most importance ; but each supplements the other. 
Other peoj)le's ancestors did much, held conspicuous 
positions, and their personal history ought to be collect- 
ively written — especially family work. 

The work of the descendants of Thomas Brown, on 
that day, has never been collectively written. He came 
to Concord in 1638, and in 1775 his branches had " over- 
run the wall, " and in numbers exceeded any other family 
in Concord, and they were on the ground April 19, 1775. 

King James the Second enacted laws which were 
very oppressive to the colonies, and appointed governors 
Avho were severe and arbitrary in their administration, 
and the colonies made the successful resistance of April 
19, 1689, in the capture of Gov. Andross, the frigate in 
Boston harbor, and the fort on Beacon Hill. 

More than two hundred years having elapsed, and 
we are so far removed therefrom, we do not at first 
realize the importance, the spirit, nor the outcome of this 
resistance. It was but the counterpart of that spirit 
which led the Pilgrims and Puritans to seek a new 
country, some seventy years before, whose religious and 
political liberty could be secured and which now seemed 
likely to be lost. This resistance was the germ, the seed, 
the root of that great liberty-tree whose branches reach 



22 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



all over our laod, whose roots penetrate every inch of 
our soil, and whose shadows cover all our waters. 

The first American crisis was the buildinj>- of the first 
American house, April 19, 1603, in Buzzards Bay. After 
eighty-six years the second crisis came, April 19, 1689 ; 
and the people showed themselves equal to the emergency 
and struck for civil and religious liberty in the capture of 
Andross, the frigate and the fort. Eighty-six years again 
rolled around, when the third great crisis came at the 
Bridge, in successful resistance to British oppression, 
April 19, 1775. Eighty-six years again rolled around and 
the fourth great crisis Avas preci])itated in the Eebellion, 
indexed as the passage through Baltimore, Many of us 
remember that event ; some of us perhaps were there ; 
others had relatives or neighbors participating in the 
passage. The brother-in-law of your reader. Dr. Norman 
Smith of Groton, was the surgeon of the Sixth Regiment, 
and some thirty-six wearied, sick and wounded soldiers 
were thrown upon his surgical skill and care by the vio- 
lence of that passage, while eighty-six years before his 
wife's grandfather, Jonas Brown, was wounded at the 
Bridge, and, bleeding, chased the enemy nine miles. 

Paul Revere's alarm reverberated through the town 
of Concord ; and the militia-men and many citizens 
iiathered for the issue, manv of the familv of mv father 
(descendants of Thomas Brown of 1638) being among 
them, a few of whom I name in this brief sketch, and 
wish I could name them all. Reuben Brown, on the 
instant of the alarm, s])rang upon his horse and went 
flying down the Lexington road, as a scout, to discover 
where the British were, fire flying from the steel of his 
horse. He reached the border of Lexington tillage at 4 
o'clock, and with amazement saw eight hundred British, 
Avith deadly arms, advancing ujkui the devoted town, and, 
electrified with horror, he saw the unprovoked massacre 
of the people on Lexington Green. Then he swept back 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. 23 



over the six miles of the way with the frantic leaps of his 
steed and told the Concord leaders what he had seen. 
The country was to be alarmed, and, turning his foaming, 
panting horse, he rushed along tlie road toward Ilopkin- 
ton, thirty miles to the south, c-rving along the way : 
'^ To arms ! — to arms ! The British fired upon the Lex- 
ington people while I was watching them, an<l they will 
be in Concord soon massacring everywhere ! To arms ! 
— to arms ! " 

While he was on this patriotic errand the British 
arrived in Concord village. Before they left Boston the 
British officers had previously raided the town, been in 
conference with the Tories, sent about their spies, and 
had learned that Reuben Brown was making canteens, 
belts, knapsacks, saddles and holsters, and other military 
supplies; and what maddened them still more, the 
defiant, patriotic flag floated from a high staff — a liberty 
pole — erected by the people on Reuben's land, just 
north of his house, on the next prominent and conspic- 
uous bluff in the centre of the village. This flag and pole 
were the first things in Concord that the British struck. 
A squad of soldiers was detailed to destroy them. 
Reuben's family fled at their approach and he was on the 
Avay to Hopkinton, and there were no organized forces 
to resist the British raid. They trod the sacred flag 
into the dust under their feet ; they cut down the 
staff, reduced it to splinters, piled it high and set 
it on fire, gratified to see it burn, but little dreaming 
that every tongue of flame and every puff of curling- 
smoke that ascended to heaven would increase and 
multix-)ly until America was completely involved and the 
land ablaze with other flags and other staffs, to become 
the glory of this republic and the admiration and 
wonder of the world. 

The gathering militia-men and the other people of 
the town and region became more and more determined 



*24 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



as they beheld the liaiues aud smoke ; for in them were 
foretold the rising destinies of a nation, as tlie pillar of 
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night had foretold 
the rising and the destinies of the children of Israel. 
Sentiment here had force. It became a material, ])o\v- 
^rful force, for it was sentiment that tilled the people 
with patriotism and endowed them with strength and 
endurance to overbear every obstacle. 

The next British ste}) was to reach Reuben's house. 
Here they failed to find munitions of war ; for, as soon as 
made, these had been carried to remote parts of the town 
and carefully secreted with other, though less exposed, 
patriots. They went through his house, barn and shop ; 
and, disappointed that all were em])ty, except his chaise- 
house, they turned their destructive course to other 
places, little realizing the pressing need of that chaise ere 
night to convey their wounded and bleeding officer to 
Boston, In their desperate, hurried and harried flight 
they took it and at Cambridge were obliged to abandon 
it, in order to come under the protection of the British 
troops, sent from Boston for their relief from annihila- 
tion. Afterwards Josej^h Hayward of Concord took the 
chaise back to Cbncord, bloodv and filthv as it was with 
British gore, and restored it to its owner. Several British 
soldiers who were captured that day were confined for 
months by Reuben, at his house, as prisoners of war, a 
striking example of the reverses of war. 

His age was forty-five years. He was born in 
Littleton, but his father and family had returned to 
Concord, where Reuben became a saddler, established his 
home and made himself independent in ])roi)erty, as 
indicated by his homestead, horse and chaise, and other 
possessions, all of which he devoted that morning, and 
gave himself, to serve more freely in the cause of his 
country and freedom — the first, full, free, voluntary sac- 
rifice for his country- of self and home ! 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. 25 



It is thus to be seen that Reuben Brown was one of 
the prominent and patriotic men of Concord. His house 
is there now, adjacent to and next south of that ancient 
hillside graveyard that lies but a few rods south of the 
court-house ; and Reuben himself and many of liis kin 
are buried there, and his epitaph to(h\y shows the 
precious spot. 

David Brown was captain of a company of Minute- 
men which he led to the defence of the bridge. His 
house stands now on the road from the bridge to Acton, 
at the northwest corner formed where the road from 
Jonas Buttrick's place joined the Acton road, and about 
fifty rods westerly from the bridge. Early in the 
morning he sounded the alarm and the call to arms, and 
soon some forty men were at his side and more came 
later. The time came to move to the defence of the 
bridge. He marched his company toward the right from 
the field on the hill to take position under the hill, behind 
the stone wall that skirted its base, was near to and 
commanded the bridge. The Acton heroes, just arriving 
in sight, seeing Captain Brown's intention to place his 
men under the w\all, sprang forward with their leader to 
file in next to the wall, and Captain Brown's men took 
position just behind the Acton men. 

It is deemed a glorious thing to be first in danger, and 
the Acton men were a little nearer to the bridge than 
Captain Brown's men ; and it may be said that it is 
deemed a glorious thing to be first in safety, and the 
Acton company got the position of first in safety by the 
celerity of their action, with Captain Brown's men close 
up behind their backs. The Acton men had the best 
position, being more closely under the wall. Possibly 
the Concord men accorded the place to the Acton men 
either out of chivalry or policy. Some hint seems to 
impute the Acton host to a desire for the safest place, 
and that was patriotic and to their honor. Both the 



26 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



conipauies caiiie into ])()sition on the same instant and 
both were nearly in the same danjrer. 

My oraudfather, Jonas Bi'o\yn, Ay as a Minute-man 
(23 years ohi) in liis uncle Dayid Rrown's company. 
The British were mauoenyerinj^ at the bridge and began 
to tear up the bridge plank and throw them into the river. 
The American commander, John Buttrick, ordered them 
in a loud yoice to desist. Either in indignation or 
defiance, or to intimidate, or t<i test the Americans, a 
single shot was tired by the British, the ball wounding 
Luther Blanchard of Acton and piercing the shoulder of 
Jonas Brown. Some sixty years ago my father told me 
that his father, Jonas Brown, was on one knee priming 
his gun. The next instant his ball was in the air, and 
who can tell if it struck the officer that rode in Reuben's 
chaise ? or more fatally, one of the British soldiers 
lying by the wall, east, and so near to the bridge ? 

Capt. Davis being killed, Capt. Brown and the two 
companies, including the wounded Jonas, leaped the 
wall, rushed to the bridge and crossed on the narrow 
stringers, and the British, stricken in panic, fled for life 
toward the Lexington road. 

David and his men with the Acton men and others 
poured in volley after volley and were soon chasing the 
flying British army miles away on the road toward 
Boston. I rode from Arlington to Concord April 19, 
1894, and inspected the several tablets which tell of 
deadly strife, and saw the well where James Hayward 
and the British soldier shot each other ; and at Concord 
an Acton man displayed Hayward's powder horn, pierced 
both sides by the British ball. Edward Eyerett, years 
ago, exalted this horn by a silver band and placed around 
its neck a silver chain. 

David Brown was a leading man in Concord, and in 
all the region, being a most prominent and influential 
man. He was the son of Epliraim, son of Thomas, son 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. 27 



of Thomas, the origiual iuiini grant, who came to Con- 
cord in 1638. He was 43 years old. He was my father's 
great-uncle, and a captain of the Minute-men. He was, 
in November, 1774, appointed one of a Committee of 
Inspection to see to the punctual and particular observ- 
ance of Concord's Association agreement. In March, 
1770, he was appointed a member of the Committee of 
Correspondence and held that position seven years. He 
was selectman four years. In 1778 and '79 he Avas a 
member of the committee of the town to hire soldiers for 
the campaign to Rhode Island and for the continental 
draft. He was delegate to the state convention which 
met in Concord, July 14, 1779. He was delegate to the 
county convention and also delegate to the state con- 
vention which met in Concord in October, 1779. He was 
delegate to the county of Middlesex convention held in 
Concord, August 23, 1776. He was a member of a 
committee of five to address the people of Middlesex by a 
circular, September 9, 1786. He was one of the six cap- 
tains on the Jonas Buttrick hill watching the British 
troops in their destructive raid through the town, and on 
Davis' fall, as the one Concord captain, he led from the 
wall to the bridge and along the heights towards 
Merriam's Corner, fighting all the Avay. Sundry of his 
descendants live in Lowell today. He died in 1802, aged 
72 years. His widow died in 1832, aged 99 years. He 
was the fourth generation from the first Thomas. 

Jacob Brown was the oldest son of Abishai Brown of 
Concord. He was 39 years old in 1775, and was captain 
of a company in 1776. 

Zachariah, his brother, was 32 years old, and Abishai, 
his other brother, was 29 years, and thus three of his 
family, cousins to Captain David, were on duty in 1775. 

After the retreat of the British from the bridge, one 
Briton was found lying where he fell, near the bridge, on 
the south side of the road, and another in the middle of 



28 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



the road, a few rods east of the bridge, shot in the neck, 
both dead. 

Zachariah Brown's house was on the northeast 
corner, at the junction of the avenue and the village road 
and near the bridge. It is understood to be there now. 

Just at night Zachariah and a neighbor buried the 
two soldiers beside the wall, where you may see the mon- 
ument today. 

On the first day of labor on the monument to Jonas 
Brown, Mrs. Powers of Chestnut Street, Lowell, said : 
" As the British troops were coming to the bridge, Mrs. 
Brown seized her infant daughter and rushed across the 
bridge to go to the house of David Brown, crying, ' The 
British are coming. My baby ! O, my baby !' " Pre- 
sumably it was Mrs. Zachariah Brown, living at the 
corner. 

Capt. Abishai Brown, before mentioned, was one of 
the fourth generation from the original Thomas, cousin 
to David, and lived on the westerly road to Carlisle, about 
two and one-half miles northwesterly from the bridge. 

Colonel Jeremiah Lee of Marblehead, in March, 1775, 
among other stores, sent to Concord a quantity of tents, 
poles, axes and hatchets, and they were stored at Abishai 
Brown's farm, some two and one-half miles toward 
Carlisle. He was of decidedly military tastes, captain of 
a company of 103 Minute-men, who marched to Cam- 
bridge, with Jonas Brown as corporal. 

In April, 1770, companies were enlisted from Mid<lle- 
sex County for the purpose of fortifying and defending 
Boston and vicinity, and Abishai Brown was captain. 
In the campaign of 1777 he was captain of a Middlesex 
company, in which were 29 Concord men. During this 
campaign he was commissioned major of the regiment. 
In the campaign of 1778 the Concord troops went to the 
defence of Kliode Island with Abishai as commander. 
He was a zealous patriot, a trusted and influential citizen 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. '29 



of good oducatioii, good judgineut, literary, aud a 
ready writer, a member of Concord's committee of 1777. 
He was a studious, observing, practical man. In his 
military life, in the need of surgeons, he took upon himstdf 
the duty of caring for the wounded and sick under his 
command, and with so much devotion and success as to 
endear him to his soldiers, and acquired so much skill 
and ability that after the war he had many calls and 
much practice in Concord, his surgical skill being often 
preferred before that of the other Concord doctors. He 
was selectman two years and lived till April 18, 17!H>, 
when, at the age of (>5, he was buried in that side hill 
cemetery, where one can now read his epitajth. The 
Sons of the American Revolution, just before this last 
19th of April, placed markers, similar to " ])eri)etual 
care" of Lowell's Cemetery, at each known ]>atriot's 



grave. 



In the declaration of Jonas BroAvn he says, '" I 
enlisted as ensign for an expedition to Canada in tlie 
regiment of Lieut. Col, Brown." Your reader has no1 
learned whether Lieut. Col. Brown was of the fanulv of 
the Concord Browns, or of kin. The family blond was 
widely scattered in adjacent tow^ns. Perhaps he was 
descended from the original Thomas of 1638. 

The History of Temple, N. H,, was published in 1850. 
Your reader procured for its pages the statement of Jonas 
Brown, which follows : Ensign Jonas Brown was born 
in Concord, Mass., 1752 ; removed to Temple, N. H., 
1780, and married August 10, 1784, Hannah Heald. She 
was the daughter of Maj. Ephraim Heald, and the first 
female child born in Temple. Maj. Heald was a direct 
descendjjnt in the fourth generation from John Heald, 
who settled in Concord, Mass., 1635 to 1638. The History 
of Temple says : "Jonas Brown was a very patriotic man, 
and the statement which he was obliged to make in order 
to secure his pension, under act of Congress of January 



30 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



7, 1832, concerning his serA'ices in the Revolution Ave 
present in full, and it is as follows : " 

The annual pension here granted Avas .|117.33, rated 
from Marcli 4, 1831, and was paid till his death, July 31, 
1834. He was aged 82 when he died. He waited long 
before he was paid. From his entering service and 
receiving his first pension was fifty-six years and two 
montlis. Patriots of our last war have had pensions from 
their discharge. How much better our day! In its 
distribution he gave to his third son, Ephraim, the father 
of your reader, one silver dollar, the only silver he ever 
received from his father, and here it is. 

In grateful remembrance of his patriotic service and 
in admiration for Ids noble nature, his descendants in 
1887 erected a massive granite monument on the spot in 
Concord where he was born, eleven miles from Lowell on 
the river road to Concord. The Lowell Courier of April 
18 contains the following : 

" Mr. Ephraim Brown, wlio resides on Ch(^stnut 
Street, has shown us a precious relic of Revolutionary 
times, which is of special interest today, on the eve of the 
19th of April. It is a silver piece about the size of a 
dollar, coined probably in some South American country, 
but what country does not appear. It is somewhat 
defaced by age, and is considerably worn on one side, 
althougli the milling is distinct, and the inscriptions are 
clear. 

" This coin was paid to Mr. Brown's grandfather, 
Jonas Brown, in 1831, by the U. S. Government as a part 
of his pension. The piece was evidently coined in 1824. 
The grandfather was Jonas Brown, who was born in Con- 
cord, December 15, 1752. He was the first Concord man 
wounded on the American side, himself and an Acton 
man being hit by tlie first shot fired by the British at the 
bridge. The shot hit him on the upper part of the 
shoulder near the neck, infiicting a considerable flesh 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON. 31 



wound, which only ser\^ed to rouse his Yankee blood, and 
he followed the retreating British nine miles, with the 
blood streaming from his wound, and he fighting all the 
wa}'. He used to say to his boys : ' I had hot chocolate 
for my breakfast, cold lead for dinner, and tired feet for 
supper. ' Jonas Brown was at the battle of Bunker Hill, 
and served about two years and a half during the war. 
He afterwards moved to Temple, N. IL, where he married, 
raised a family and died. 

" Mr. Ephraim Browm is a member of the Sons of the 
Revolution, and will go to Somerville tonight, and tomor- 
row will ride over the same route taken by his Kevo- 
lutionary grandfather, as nearly as possible. He is 
naturally very proud of this pension piece of his grand- 
father, as he is of his ancestor's record. He has caused 
to be erected at Jonas Brown's birthplace, in Concor<l, a 
fine granite monument, costing |400, the amount being 
subscribed by the descendants, and on the monument he 
proposes soon to place an enlarged reproduction of the 
pension piece referred to, either in granite relief or 
bronze, or some other suitable form. The monument 
stands between two magnificent elm trees, which were 
planted by Jonas Brown at some date previous to his 
leaving Concord, and which must now be between 130 and 
140 years old, and are appai-ently good for another cen- 
turv. " 

No man of Concord was killed that day, and Jonas 
Brown was the only Concord man that was wounded. 

Contribution No. 20 of this Association, read May, 
1877, contains other matter of interest relative to Jonas 
Brown, to which reference may be had by inquirers. 

Thus I have named six men of this Brown family 
who did good, prominent work in Concord that day, 
Reuben, David, Jacob, Zachariah, Abishai and Jonas, and 
it is i^robable there were several others who do not appear 



32 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCLViTON. 



ill the accounts, for the lists of the military companies 
have been lost. 

Georf^e Tolman of Concord, genealogist and his- 
torian, told me that in 1775 the descendants of the first 
Thomas Brown exceeded in nnmbers any other family in 

town. 

David Brown's sister Mary, Jonas' aunt, was the Avife 

of Jonathan Bnttrick, and his sister Sarah was the wife 
of Joseph Bnttrick, l)otli of whom were prominent men 
in Concord, and did good service that day, being kin to 
John Bnttrick, who gave that thrilling order " to fire, " 
and that shot has been reverberating aronnd the world 
and is rolling on and on, for hnman freedom, nntil time 
shall be no more. 



III. Our Load Geolocfy. Bi/ Harrieftr Rnt. Read 
December 7.V. 7SfJ4. 



When I was iuviteil, iu the spriujj;-, to prepare a paper 
iilDon our local geology for the Old Residents' Associa- 
tion, it seemed a pleasant suggestion, for summer was 
at hand and I wanted very much to study the rocks 
within the precincts of Lowell. But sickness at home 
prevented the geological excursions. There was no 
time for walks, and I shall only be able tonight to speak 
of the little I have seen in a general way. 

The first question we might naturally ask is, where- 
abouts in the long ages of time int(^ which historical 
geology has been divided do the rock foundations of our 
city take their place ? This question has not been 
settled. Professor Crosby (^f the Boston Technology 
replied to it, "As to the age of the Lowell rocks, I think 
the less we have of ])ositive statements the better. They 
are evidently old. The slates are very likely Cambrian, 
and the granite younger, since it cuts the slate, but then 
again the entire series may be simply Archaean. " 

Professor Emerson of Andierst College, who has been 
engaged in the state survey, and has prepar(Ml a series of 
topographical maps, answered : " 1 am quite sure that 
the mica schists and slates in vour reirion are Silurian, 
and the granite as it cuts througii is newer, probably as 
late as carboniferous in time of eruption. " 

In the geological map of the United States comjiiled 
bv Professor Hitchcock of Dartmouth Colleiie for the 
American Institute of Mining Engineers, the best of its 
size, and which we use in our classes of teachers. Eastern 
Massachusetts for the most part is placed in the 
Archaean time, or what was once called the Azoic age. 



•34 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Geolofjy is in a state of transition, and scientists are Aery 
careful about making positive statements. But our 
rocks have not been studied as they will be during the 
progress of the state survey. So far the earliest investi- 
gations claim that there are only two places in Massachu- 
setts strictly Archaean, one is in the neighborhood of 
Palmer - a large area. 

T am sure of your sympathy here toniglit in noting 
the change of terms that modern geology has brought to 
I)ass, Of course it is inevitable, and found everywhere ; 
a scientific work ten years old may become obsolete. 
President Hitchcock of Amherst, one of the pioneers in 
aeoloav, declared to his son (^harles one dav that certain 
views which lu^ was enforcing in regard to the structure 
of the earth, would never be contradicted, and he pre- 
pared for hiui a list of these statements to which Ire 
might refer, " and every one of these, " said the younger 
professor before a class at Mt. Holyoke College, " has now 
been overthrown." Take the old idea of the fluidity of 
the interior of the earth — today we read : " In the 
present state of science we are justified in thinking of 
the earth as possibly a ball of iron some 7000 miles in 
diameter. " Take Cuvier's classification and one of his 
sub-kingdoms of the animal world — the Radiata — Avliat 
a com])rehensive term it served for us, and how easy to 
slip certain types into it. Biology has passed it over. 
Syenite, as applied to hornblendic granite, has gone 
by. Mica slate is now metamorphic slate. But let 
us be cheerful about it, for we like to keep step with 
the multitude; only now and then, as we qiuite from 
Dana's geology, it brings a pang to be told that "it 
is of no use to linger over that old-fashioned text 
book any longer." We are glad that his mineralogy 
still holds the highest rank. In an old Xorth 
American Journal of Science and Arts there is an article 
bv Professor Silliman entitled " Treological Facts. " This 



OUli LOCAL GEOLOGY. 35 



was writteu sixty years ago, in 1S34, and it is worth 
glancing for a moment at. the aspect of onr city at that 
time. He states that Lowell is a tlo\U'isliing manufact- 
uring town, situated ui)Ou the Merrimack River, twenty- 
four miles north of Boston. Although it has grown up 
within twelve or thirteen years, it contains as many 
thousand inhabitants, and is constantly increasing. He 
speaks of the large number of intelligent and libera] 
minded mechanics and other citizens who have united 
their efforts to sustain a high intellectual, moral and 
religious standard, and that a vigilant and efficient 
magistracy watch over the quiet and security of the citi- 
zens. " A large hall, " he adds, *' is now in the course of 
being erected by the associated mechahics of Lowell, who 
intend there to furnish ample accommodations for public 
lectures, for a public library, and for collections in natural 
history." He affirms that Massachusetts affords great 
encouragement to hope that manufactures may be 
sustained consistently with pure morals and enlightened 
intelligence. 

The remarkably interesting geological features of 
which he writes are our dikes of granite and of trap. But 
the high places A\i!icli he saw have been levele<l ; streets 
have been <-ut througli the ledges and only one sjxtt 
remains that 1 can clearly identify. lie says that the 
great railroad from Boston, just b(^fi)r(^ its termination, 
passes through the solid rocks iu a cut uiiich is a (piarter 
of a mile in length, and in some parts ai)pears to be forty 
feet deep. 

On the east side of what was known as the French 
Mansion, we can look down through the fence at This 
embankment. It is composed of mica schis;t, and bears 
traces of a force that has turned and twisted the strata 
out of their original position. I do not find the green- 
stone and basalt of which he speaks. 

Three belts of rock formation pass through 



;)(i OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, 



Lowell. They are mica schist, mica slate and gneiss. 
These were at first laid down horizontally, and liaA'e 
been npliftetl by some internal force to their present 
position. The central portion is mica slate. The dip is 
northerly, and the strike rnns easterly and westerly. ( )n 
the sonthern side extends the coarse mica schist. On 
the north we find micaceons gneiss. These belts vary in 
width, bnt extend in a sonthwesterly course toward 
Worcester. 

Of conrse, in the neighborhood of onr Northern 
depot, we find the rocks are mostly of mica schist. We 
can trace this formation throngh Westford Street, where 
it is still exposed. AA'orkmen strike it in this ]uirl of 
the city when digging for sewers. It is coarsely crys- 
talline an<l so full of iron, as shown in its coloring, that 
Professor Bnrbank, formerly of Lowell, used to say it 
wonld pay to work it up, if that metal could not be 
obtained elsewhere. Mica schist is, next to gneiss, the 
most abundant rock in New England. In this locality 
we find il is exposed in various hues, from a deep red, 
through a darkish green uj) to the silvery gray of 
Muscovite. 

On the west side of the Armory, two years ago, a fine 
opportunity was afforded for seeing in what way the 
internal heat and pressure had contorted the strata. 
Uere also we find nearly pure hornblend<^, and masses of 
diorite, a name now given lo layers of orthoclase and 
hornblende. To me this locality has been most perplex- 
ing, and it was the first s])ot last summer that I wished 
Professor Barton of the Boston Institute of Technology 
to visit, to see if he could find any of the so-called trap. 
But he could not. I'he (question is an interesting one to 
be decided. Is iliis diorite a stratified rock, or is it 
eruptive, with a flow structure ? 

Passing up Chelmsford Street, you are confronted 
with another wall of mica schist. Mr. Bowers, our City 



OUR LOCAL GEOLOGY. 37 



Eugineer, told me that lie liad tried in vain to ntilize this 
substance but he belieye<l it was good for nothing-. The 
workmen call it " rotten stone. " Once having examined 
this schist, you would recognize it again in any part of 
the globe. 

If you climb up that hill, you notice upon the top a 
line of rocks — in its nature a coarse granito. This Avas 
evidently a dike that crystallized at a great <lei»th, and 
under high pressure ; perha])s the same force that made 
the fissure, also forced up tin- melted matter. The mica 
schist that enclosed it has been worn away by erosion. 
On the other side we come to Bellevue Street, where our 
teachers have found excellent specimens of feldspar for 
studv. Here, some one tells vou that a hill has been 
removed, and we find an exposure of coarse granite, con- 
taining a profusion of cinnamon garnets. Geologists 
afiftrm that the whole of New England is slowlv rising, 
so there may be some compensation for all of this level- 
ling i)rocess. Passing up Fletcher Street, we soon come 
to an outcropping of mica slate, Avhich coutinu(^s in a 
straight line across the river and forms the bed of the 
Merrimack, Everybody in Lowell is familiar with this 
rock. In the early days of our city it must have been 
useful in the erection of buildings ; St. Anne's Church 
may be called one of its monuments. 

We all remember the high ledge that ])assed through 
Fletcher Street, near the residence of Dr. Sullivan Ward, 
and which we used to call the Pass of Thernu)pylae. 
The eastern portion has been hewn away. On the west 
side the cliff rises some thirty feet, and is nearly perpen- 
dicular. Here is enclosed our first genuine dike, or we 
might call it a double dike of trap rock if we use the 
good old-fashioned generic term. How well some of us 
remember one afternoon when Dr. Street led a class up 
to this place, and ]>lacing his hand upon the dike said : 
" Here is vour true fire rock." It cuts across the mica 



:38 OLD RESIDENTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



slate, pas^^es imder the street, and re-appears farther 
down on the opposite side. Here are also pockets of this 
trap, showing that the melted substance tilled up and 
neatly cemented all the apertures. Perhaps in Prof. 
Silliman's day he could folloAv this ledge and trace the 
dikes all the way throuoh. These upheavals were not 
made (piickly, but probably required ages for their work. 
So slowly it may have been ac<-omplished, that we, during 
our short lives, would never have been aware of what 
was jroing on, onlv rested as we do now, on the stability 
of the earth. 

East of the Connecticut valley there is only one area 
of mica slate. It is irregular in outline, seems to enter 
the state on the northeast, in Amesbuiy and llaverliill, 
with a breadth of seven or eight miles. In Lowell we 
trace it across the Merrimack, which it soon leaves, and, 
rarvinjr from one to two miles in breadth, passes south- 
westerly through Westford. 

An interesting belt of granite is said to extend from 
Worcester to Dracut. The question of the origin of 
granite has long been under discussion. Formerly it 
was considered a metamorphic rock akin to gneiss, and 
that the planes of stratification had been obliterated by 
internal heat. Now the structure is sup])osed to indi- 
cate that the whole substance took its position at once 
and by a single process. It is therefore an eruptive 
rock, and called plutonic, a name now given to express 
the idea of the great depth and pressure under which 
such masses were formed. The only granite we notice 
about Lowell is the coarse crystalline variety. Granitic 
outbursts must have been of great magnitude all along 
the coast of New England. The immense quarries at 
Rockport, indeed the whole of Cape Ann is of this 
nature. So granite may be looked upon as a late visitor, 
when compared with its neighbors. It must have come 
from some molten mass deep in the earth, and have 



OUR LOCAL GEOLOGY. 39 



overcome the resistance of ages. One of these irregular 
dikes that deties the crust above it, is twelve miles long 
and seven wide. Think of such a huge mass on its way 
up from the fiery depths, slowly settling into position, 
and growing cold and rigid at last. 

Towards the northeast end of our granite belt, 
noticeable perhaps at Ayer, the gr^inite passes into 
gneiss. This is the most abundant rock in Massa- 
chusetts, forming, it is said, nearly .ouedialf of our 
state. AA'e find it in all grades of condition. Sometimes 
the bedding is obscure, and it is difficult anyway to fin<l 
the line where it merges into granite. The gneiss in this 
region is always micaceous, and passes into mica slate. 
About half a mile from the end of the Pawtucket car 
route we reach the so-called granite quarry. It is 
evidently abandoned, although it must liaA-e done good 
service in days gone by. Its decayed appearance, due to 
the decomposing feldspar, suggests the thought of some 
old house that has been deserted. We haA'e found it au 
interesting si)ot for a class in geology to visit. It con- 
sists of gneiss, and the lines of stratification are clearly 
shown. There are veins of granular quartz, and tlie 
largest dike within w^alking distance cuts through the 
gneiss. Professor Burbank gave to this trap the name 
of Lowellite, claiming that it dilTered in its constitution 
from the ordinary diorite and diabase, and deserve<i a 
distinction. I do not find this claim recognized else- 
where, but our classes have enjoyed preserving the 
legend, and we have named our specimens in his honor. 
The chlorite which appears in a smooth, shining surface, 
where the trap nnites with the gneiss, gives the appear- 
ance of slickensides, but this is ])robably due only to the 
expansion of a hydrate mineral. 

What relation does this dike sustain to the one 
which we find at tlie edge of Tvugsborouiih, crossing the 



40 OLD KESIDENTS' IIISTOHICAL ASSOCIATION. 



road, from the north, uear the foot of a long hill, leading 
out from Dracut ? 

On the banks of the Merrimack just above the 
canal walk at Pawtucket Falls, the Lowell ite re-appears 
in a porphyritic state— mottled with crystals «»f feldspar. 
The nickel mine in Dracut, on the Lawrence road, about 
three miles from Lowell, has been frequently visited by 
geologists, and is, perhaps to them, the most noted spot 
in this region. The ore is pyrohotite, enclosed in a 
section of trap. This is a wild, beautiful place, and if 
the road could be repaired it would make a most attract- 
ive driveway. 

Everybody has heard about the successive failures 
in this mine. The ore is often valuable, containing three 
to five per cent, of nickel. Pyrite is generally dis- 
tributed among rocks of all ages, and it frequently occurs 
in our gneiss and mica schist. Some workmen, in 
digging for a sewer in Lowell, a few months ago, struck 
a mass of metal and brought a fragment to Mr. A. K. 
Whitcomb, our school superintendent. Ii has proved 
to be arseuopyrite — a pyrite containing arsenic. This 
ore is worked for its arsenic, and sometimes for its gold, 
so it might be well 1o look out for a buried treasure. 
Stray minerals are noticed here and tliere. An out-crop- 
ping of gneiss can be seen on Broadway, o})i)osite the 
Locks and Canals. In that field, when the canal was 
deepened and the stones thrown up, our classes found 
both limestone and chlorite. The limestone may have 
been deposited in ])ockets and not in regular layers. 

Mr. Cheney, sui)erinteudent of the Locks and Canals 
Company, has recently discovered, particles of graphite 
near one of the canals. Beds of graphite are mostly 
found in very ancient formations and are probably relics 
of the first sea-weeds that floated to the primitive shore, 
but small bits of this mineral, that used to be known as 
plumbago or black lead, are frequently distributed 
during later periods. 



OUPw LOCAL GEOLOGY. 41 



But, after all, tke most iuterestiug points of Lowell 
and its adjoining districts, are connected with the glacial 
period, ^^'e used to hear that Lowell was once a lake. 
Certainly this can be said of a large part of Tewksbiiry, 
for all the features of a lake formation can be clearly 
traced. A sheet of ice snch as now holds sway in Green- 
land, only twice as large, moyed down and took ])os- 
session of onr land. It came from the frozen north ; 
it wore away onr ledges, and deepened onr yalleys; it 
brought doAyn boulders, both great and small, to cover 
our fields; it blocked up the old channel of the Merrimack 
at Tyngsborongh, so that a sheet of ice acted like a dam, 
and the riyer \\as forced to turn aside, and cut its wav 
through the solid rock, down to its present bed. Pro- 
fessor Slialer, of Cambridge, thinks the line of the old 
Middlesex Canal was about the same as that the river 
took wlien it emptied into the ocean at Boston, instead of 
Newburyport. We can imagine the glacier creeping 
slowly onward to the sea, and that huge icebergs floated 
southward along our coast. 

In Gloucester, an area calk-d the Dog Town 
Commons marks a terminal marine. Hundreds of 
boulders coyer the ground, and stretch on and on as far 
as the eye can see. This nioying ice sheet passed on its 
way slowly, but not gently. It tore, and rasped, and 
scarred, and left its traces whereyer there was a surface 
broad and smooth enough for it to score. How far tliis 
mountain of ice rose aboye us, who can tell ? Perhaps 
6000 feet. By and by the world's spring time came 
again ; the ice melted away ; the rushing streams 
from the foot of the glaciers brought down quantities of 
sand and grayel, raising long and winding ridges, which 
are called eskers, or collected together masses for glacial 
hills. To these the Irish name of Drumlius has been 
giyen. Not unfrequently depressions were left to be 
occupied by ponds. A line of eskers extend through the 



42 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



town of Andover. A part of the same net-work crosses 
the Andover road, about a mile below the Lowell line, 
follows in a southwesterly course from the river, disap- 
pears at Long Meadow and emerges again opposite the 
farm-house owned by Mr, Jason Fuller, and probably 
goes on to Acton. A tine opportunity is offered for a 
study of this ridge, as the farmers have either left it 
untouched, or kindly built their walls upon the top. In 
order to straicrhten the town road a cut was made 
through the esker a few years ago near the school-house. 
A ledge of quartz is exposed, showing a smooth and 
rounded surface, and also fine lines or striae. 

In some places the modified drift is clearly seen. 
That these ridges were made by the action of water i« 
plain, but how, is a question still unsolved, llaggett's 
Pond, like that of Walden in Concord and also at 
Willow Dale, undoubtedly marks a depression where a 
glacier or mass of ice lingered. Afterwards it melted 
away, and the pond was left for a record of its 
abiding place. Drumlins are not rocks like ordinary 
hills, but are just vast heaps of unstratified material, 
containing boulders and gravel. How they came to 
be i)iled into heaps is a problem. The structure is so 
hard that engineers have said that it was as easy 
to cut through solid rock as through some of these. 
There are 1500 of these drumlins in Massachusetts. 
Thev are numerous in the vicinitv of Boston, and many 
of these well known hills, like Beacon, Cox, Bunker and 
others, belong to this order. We have two in Lowell, 
Fort Hill and Belvidere Hill. These are well known and 
were examined by Professor Barton last summer. The 
trend of these hills is from northwest to southeast. This 
is always a marked feature, viz: a long, gradual slope on 
the east side. The outline is oval, and the surface smooth 
and round. The glacier left at our very doors traces of 
its footsteps. In the rear of the Highland Church is a 



OUR LOCAL GEOLOGY. 43 



ledge deeply furrowed. A boulder ou Fort Hill I'ark 
bears the well-kuowu grooves. 

A fragment of the rock which interested Dr. Street 
so much and which Agassiz pronounced the best specimen 
of glacial furrows in New England, is still to be seen in its 
old place, on the bank of the Merrimack, but more than 
half of it has been taken away. 

On the cross road leading from North Tewksbury to 
the centre of the town we hud another water-worn ledge. 
Often the ridges in our rocks that are mistaken for gla- 
cial striae are simply due to weathering. They are only 
lines of quartz that have been left by the erosion of the 
feldspar. In the bed of the Merrimack River, where it can 
be crossed near the Pawtucket Falls, in the summer time, 
are fine specimens of such Avork. Sometimes the ridges 
coA'er the entire boulder, crossing and re-crossing like a 
netting of lace. This gives a peculiarly hoary appearance 
and suggests Egyptian antiquities. In the yards of the 
Locks and Canals Co. is a monument of erosion well pre- 
served. There is a high cliff at the end of Varnum 
Avenue, where the gravel has been removed for use in tlie 
Boulevard and the boulders left behind. They are worth 
stopping to see what a generous supply a small neighbor- 
hood can furnish, and also for their variety and polished 
surfaces. 

We must not omit a mention of the rocks on the farm 
belonging to Mr. Jason Fuller, on Clark Street, in Tewks- 
bury. Eveiwbody in Lowell who keeps an interest in 
geology has noticed them in passing. This tract of land 
was covered with boulders, and their pathway from the 
North could easilv be traced. They consist mainly of 
coarse gneiss, passing into mica schist. 

In clearing up the fields Mr. Fuller had many of these 
boulders broken up and built into walls. The wa^y 
structure is so marked that an anticline and svncline can 
be readily traced, and the formation of a whole range of 



44 OLD RESIDENTS" lllSTOinrAL ASSOCIATION. 



mountains studied in a small compass. Some of the lar<;e 
blocks are worthy of a miisenm. 

It is noAV claimed that although ledges were scraped, 
vallej's deepened, and hills lowered, our great erosions 
are not due to glacial action. Massachusetts, for 
instance, rises gently from the ocean to the Berkshire 
hills. An area of level upland is so noticeably a feature 
of inner New P^ngland, that it has received a newly-coined 
word, " pene plain." A long cycle of denudation took 
place before the glacial period came, and the land of our 
own state was reduced from a former height, so that only 
hills remain where once were ancient mountains. The 
great dynamical forces of the earth are never still. 

Have we anv fossils in this region? None have vet 
been found. Both Professor Burbank and Professor 
Perrv of Cambridge claimed the discovery of the Cozoon 
Canadense in the serpentinic limestones of Chelmsford. 
There is still doubt as to the animal origin of this sub- 
stance. Many years ago Professor Hitchcock of Dart- 
mouth College " imagined," he says, *' that he found traces 
of carboniferous fossils in our slates," and the same has 
been thought of those at Worcester. Professor Barton of 
Boston claims that there is no reason why signs of ancient 
life should not be found here. But they require the keen 
eyes of the fossil hunter. In the rocks of the Boston 
basin only one locality has afi'orded any. This is in Brain- 
tree, in a slate quarry on the south shore of Hayward's 
Creek. It contains a. species of trilobite known as the 
Paradoxides Harlani. This aninnil was three-lobed in 
structure, remarkable for its wonderful eyes, which 
disclose the secret of sunlight during that early period. 
But the moment we touch the life of the Silurian age a 
new world of interest opens, for the sea is full, and only 
a lost interval of time can account for such numbers and 
varioty. 

Our local ueolo^-v has its own value. TIh'I'c are not 



OT^R T.OCAL GEOLOGY. 45 



striking features to draw students from other fields, but 
wise secrets may be hidden away in unattractive phices. 
Our rocks were ])r()bably thousands of feet higher than at 
present. We are living far below what was once the 
surface. One can enjoy the sensation of an explorer in 
finding out how and why such a state of things came to be. 
The dear old dame Nature, who told Agassiz such 
wonderful stories, holds in reserve many a simple tale for 
those who will only listen. The interest of out-door life 
is enhanced a thousand times, when the language of rocks 
and trees and tiowers has once been interpreted to us. 



I]\ Before the Power-Loom. The Earliest Cotton and 

Wollen Industries at East Chelmsford and Vicinity, 

and their Promoters ; bij Z. E. Stone. Read before 

the Old Rcsident.'^^ Historical Association Dec. IS, 

IS 94. 



It is known to those familiar with the early history of 
this region that largely through the intervention of John 
Eliot, the far-famed apostle of the Pawtncket Indians, a 
tract of land was reserved for their exclusive ownership 
and use when the town of Chelmsford was settled and its 
boundaries defined. This reservation was marked by a 
ditch or trench, beginning on the Merrimack River at a 
point which many years later became known as Middlesex 
Village, extending thence in a southerly direction to the 
Concord River, south of the Lawrence Street bridge, 
thence through land now of the Lowell Cemetery and on 
the right of Fort Hill Park to the Merrimack River, below 
Hunt's Falls. The course of this trench for much of the 
distance was easily traced long after Lowell became a 
large city, but it is doubtful if any part of it can be iden- 
tified at the present time. The territory and streams 
enclosed (bounded on the north by the Merrimack) gave 
the Indians sufficient land for cultivation and the most 
desirable advantages for fishing that could have been 
selected on the two rivers. Within the boundaries of this 
reservation, after more than one hundred years had 
elapsed, were begun the earliest manufactories of woollen 
and cotton fabrics in the northeastern part of Massachu- 
setts, and the territoiw thus set apart constitutes nearly 
all that is embraced in the limits of Lowell at the present 
time, excepting those portions lying on the opposite sides 
of the Merrimack and Concord rivers. 



BEFORE THE POW EK-LOOM. 47 



Chelmsford was settled in 1()53— thirty-three years 
after the Pilgrims settled riymoiith. It is to be pre- 
sumed that carding, spinning and weaving were amon<' 
the regular legitimate employments of the women, at cer- 
tain seasons of the year, in nearly all families of tlie first 
settlers, as was the case in the other settlements in New 
England, These accomplishments are still practised to 
some extent in the Province of New Hrnnswiclc, within a 
day's ride east of us. It is a matter of record that three 
years after the incori^ration of tlic town (lO.jf;) at a 
public meeting "William How was admitted an inhab- 
itant and granted twelve acres of meadow and eighteen of 
upland, provided lie set u]> his trade of weaving and 
perform the town's work." As tliere were no paupers 
or people requiring public assistance in the town for 
about one hundred years after its settlement, the con- 
ditions on which Mr. How was admitted an inhabitant 
must have been that he should do the weaving for such 
as had no looms or preferred to hire the work done t;* 
doing it themselves. The toAvn authorities had a custom 
of imposing on settlers certain <-onditions, as in the casr» 
of the weaver, and also of Daniel Waldo, who had '' leave 
to set up a grist-mill at the mouth of Stoney Brook,'' 
provided that he " grind the corn and malt of the inhab- 
itants of Clielmsford, except on the fourth day of eacii 
week, which was appropriated to the use of Dunstable." 
He was also required "to grind the town's corn and malt 
for half-toll, except a small quantity, as a bushel or 
the like, and according to turn as much as may be." 
Samuel Adams was granted four liundre<l and tifty a (res 
of land in consideration of setting up a saw-mill, "pro- 
vided he supply the town with boards at three shillings 
per hundred or saw one log for the providing and 
bringirig of another," etc. 

There may have been a fulling or clothier's mill in 
the town earlier than IHOl, but if so we have failed to 



48 OLD RESIDEXTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCL\TIOX 



discover the fact. It is probable that the womeu had 
processes bv which they converted the wool into cloth 
without subjecting it to the manij^ulations of a fulling- 
mill proi)er. In the year above named (1(591) Lietit. John 
Barret erected a clothier's mill on Mill Brook, which 
drains Heart Pond. The stream was later known as 
River Meadow Brook and still later as Hale's Brook. It 
ends in the Concord River, near the American Bolt 
Company's plant. Heart Pond takes its name from its 
peculiar form. It has long been more generally known 
as Baptist Pond. It is in the south part of the town, 
on the right hand side, going south, of the Lowell and 
Framingliam Railroad. We know nothing of the fate of 
Lieut. Barret's enterprise. Both Mr. How and Lieut. 
Barret seem not to have been conspicuous figures in the 
town's history in later years. 

It must not be understood that all the people were 
entirely dependent on the si)inning-wheels and looms of 
their respective towns for the wherewithal A^•itil which to 
clothe themselves. The spinning of woollen and cotton 
fabrics was an industry, on a small scale, in certain local- 
ities. For instance, previous to 1()38 weaving and spin- 
ning was begun by a few families who came from 
Yorkshire and settled the town of Rowley, Essex County 
(not a long distance from Chelmsford), fourteen years 
earlier than was settled the mother-towu of Lowell. 
From the first comiug of the Pilgrims, s])iuniug and 
weaving was one of the household duties of women gener- 
ally; and in some families the production was larger than 
the consumption, while in others the demand was greater 
than the supply; and this opened the way for traffic 
between neiglibors and towns. It would not be a difficult 
matter, we conjecture, to find now in some of the old 
farm-houses in anv one of the New England states the 
flax spinning-wheel or little foot-wheel, the large wheel 
on which the wool rolls were spun, and the ponderous 



BEFOKE THE POWER-LOOM. 49 



wooden frame of the loom, samples of those in j^eiieral 
use and on which our vigorous foremothers w^rought the 
fabrics which went toward clothing themselves, their 
hnsbands and their sons and <langhters. In numerous 
instances the ''little wheel" has followed from the same 
rooftree in the count.r\^ the tall, old-fashioned clocdv, into 
elegant city homes, where, bedecked witli a bit of yellow 
or blue ribbon, it stands a mute reminder of tlie times 
when all toile<l and none were accounted wealthy, as 
wealth is held today. 

We have made no attempt to give in chronological 
order the ventures in manufacturing. Progress in this 
direction was slow, and spinning and weaving were 
household employments in the homes of very many New 
England families until within comparatively a recent 
date. In ITS" there Avas a small beginning in cotton 
manufacturing in Beverly, and the machinery em])loyed 
was driven by horse-power, as are the tlireshing-nmchines 
in New England at the present time; but, notwithstand- 
ing this enterprise received some aid from the state, it 
did not succeed, the manufacturers being unable to 
compete with foreign-made goods. In each of the states 
there was about the same interest manifested in manu- 
facturing as in Massachusetts, where in all the larger 
towns something A\as attempted from year to year. In 
1811 at Dorchester, Taunton, Bridgewater, Waltham and 
other places, were carding and fulling mills, dye works, 
etc.; but spinning and weaving were yet done in the 
homes of the j)eople. 

Some time about 1775 Ezekiel Hale of West Newbury 
came to Dracut and engaged in business on Beaver 
Brook, upon or near the site of the present Merrimack 
^A'oollen Mill. This brook drains Corbett's Pond, in 
Windham, N. H., and discharges into the Merrimack 
Kiver at about the middle of the great bend, where that 
stream sweeps out and changes to an almost soutlierly 



50 OLD KESlDExNTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



coiii-se. His business was tulliiii>', dyeiuj; and dressing 
the lioniespiin cloth made in the farmers' families. The 
women carded their wool into rolls, spun the rolls into 
yarn and wove the varn into cloth. A grandson of Mr. 
Hale (Bernice S. Hale, long a well-known resident of 
Lowell) describing the process of completing the cloth, 
said that for men's wear it was "fulled" or thickened 
by a method of shrinking it. Next it was napi)ed Avith 
teasels (a A'egetable growtli now but little known to the 
general public), then colored, sheared and ])ressed; for 
women's use it was but slightly nai)i)ed and only colored 
and pressed. The outside garments of nearly all the men 
and Avonien of the country towns were made of materia] 
manuractured as we have described. There were also at 
this location a grist-mill and a saw-mill, consequently it 
Avas the centre of qnite a large business for those times. 

In 1789 Mr. Hale sold to his sons, Ezekiel and Moses, 
a large portion of this mill ])roperty. Sales of land in 
the neighborhood were also made by him in 1793 and 
1794— Jei)tha Coburn and Isaac Bradley being purchasers. 
After the death of Mr. Hale, about 1798, the remainder 
of his estate soon went into other hands. ]Moses Hale 
(as mentioned later on) began similar enterprises at East 
Chelmsford. The Dracnt property may have been owned 
and operated by seA^eral x^JU'ties after the decease of the 
senior Hale and previous to 1814, but if so, Ave liaAe failed 
to ascertain their names. January 15tli of that year 
Emerson Briggs sold his interest in it to Aaron Har(ty. 
April 13th, following, it passed into the hands of the 
8tanleA' brothers of Attleborough— Artemas, Jabez, 
WoodAvard and SeAvell. They rebuilt and enlarged the 
principal mill and othei'A\'ise improved the place. The 
Stanleys, with occasionally co-jtartners of other names- 
John D, Clapp, Messrs. Bradley and Hamblet, and still 
another Stanley— Syh'an, the son of Artemas— held and 
operated the pro])erty until about 1828, Avhen it was 



BEFORE THE POWEK-LOOM. ol 



turnefl over to John Sweatt, a Boston merchant, wlio 
had h^aned money to his predecessors. He leased it to 
four Englishmen, viz: Charles Stott, James Fitten, Joseph 
Garnet and t^amuel Whitaker — all practical manufact- 
urers. They made tlanuel goods, on hand-looms. Power- 
looms had not at this time been brought into general use. 
About 1831 or '32, the firm failed and lost everything, 
through the mismanagement of the selling agent in Bos- 
ton. The commission house of Warren, Berry & Park, 
of Boston, furnished Mr. Stott and others money to begin 
again, under the firm name of Stott, Fitten ».^ (rarnet, 
Mr. Whitaker having withdrawn. The new firm was 
successful, and when their lease expired they each real- 
ized handsomely from the i)rofits. They hesitated about 
taking another lease until too late to renew it. 

Capt. Artemas Young and his brother Darius suc- 
ceeded Mr. Stott and others and operated the mill for a 
short time. Ca})t. Young, about 1835, built a small mill 
at Massic Falls, on the Concord River, site of the property 
of the heirs of I*. O. Richmond, avIkmc ho manufactured 
flannel goods. He was thus engaged in 1835-'3(>. A 
short distance above the mill, on an ishnul in the river, 
was a reed manufactory, reached by a foot-bridge from 
the western shore. Between this island and the shore 
was the canal which furnished th(^ Youngs water-])ower. 
One Sunday, in the winter of 183t)-'37, the building on the 
island took fire and was consumed. Firemen and specta- 
tors assembled on the ice in the canal, which proved to 
be insecure, and, breaking, firemen, the fire-engine and 
spectators were submerged in the ice-cold water, Capt. 
Young was among the unlucky ones on the ice at the 
time. From his involuntary bath he is said to have taken 
a violent cold, which induced a disease that resulted in 
his demise, April 5, 1837, at the age of fifty-two years. 
He was a native of Worcester, but came to Lowell from 
Boston about the time East Chelmsford became the town 



52 OLD RESIDENTS' HISrOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



of Lowell, wliicli was in 182(). lie was a member (tf the 
Board of Selectmen of the new town from 182S to L-^Sl, 
inclusive. He was at one time a larjie owner of real 
estate Ivino- between Central and (b)rliani Streets, begin- 
ning at what was long known as Tower's Corner. He 
was also for some time in the gracery business at the 
corner of Central and Church Streets, and was a man 
well known to the public during all his life in Lowell. 
Two sons, Charles H. and Artemas S. Young, are natives 
of Lowell and have always resided here. 

About 1838 the Chelmsford Manufacturing Company 
was formed, which absorbed the null at the Navy Yard 
and the ^^'itney blanket mill in Belvidere. (Tlie Witney 
mill was named in liouor of a successful blanket manu- 
factory in England, but Avhether originally spelled Avith 
an h — Whitney — or not we are unable to say.) The 
AVitney mill was a stone building on Howe Street, still 
standing, opposite the Belvidere Woollen Mill. Fine 
blankets were its specialty. The manufactory at West 
Chelmsford also became a portion of the combine, the 
three concerns being o]»erated under one uiaiuigement. 
(The Eagle Mill, at West Chelmsford, was destroyed by 
fire some years ago, and the site is at present marked by 
the grev stone walls Avhicli the fire left standing.) The 
principal stockholders of the Chelmsford Manufacturing 
Company were John and Thouuis Nesmith, Royal Soutli- 
worth and Harlin Pillsbury. Daniel Holden, now of 
West Concord, X. H., Avas the company's general man- 
ager at the Navv Yard, with Wesley Sawyer in charge of 
the weaving; both were also stockholders. Mr. Holden 
left the concern in 1847, and Avas succeeded by Gustavns 
D. Wackenfeldt. Robert Middleton, afterAvard a success- 
ful Avoollen manufacturer in Utica, N. Y., Avhere he 
still resides, may have been his successor. James Water- 
liouse Avas at one tinu- connected Avitli the company, but 
afterward located in Rhode Island. At another time 



BEF^ORE THE TOWER-LOOM. 53 



Wesley Sawyer (already meutioued) was agent or super- 
intendent of the mill. 

Prior to 18G0 the manufacturing property at the 
Navy Yard was given the name of the Merrimack Woollen 
Mill, and was owned by Thomas Barrows of Dedham, 
Walter Hastings of Boston and John Nesmith of Lowell. 
Joseph and Alfred Chase were, respectively, managers 
till 1862, when Edward Barrows took charge. In 18G3 
the property was bought by John Pearson of Boston. 
The small mill, higher up the stream, at Collinsville, 
was also bought by the same party, with the idea of 
running it to keep their goods on the market, aud to 
store machineiy aud stock, while the Navy Yard mill 
was being rebuilt. In 1864 a stock company was formed, 
with a capital of |500,000, the principal stockholders 
being Walter Hastings, John Nesmith, John Pearson, 
and Bauendahal & Co., the last named of New York 
City. In October, same 3'ear, the new mill was burned, 
but it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1865-'66. In 1873 the 
company failed. The property remained idle for three 
years. The upper mill was leased to Michael Collins, 
who afterward bought it. In 1877 Solomon Bachman 
of New Y^ork City leased the Merrimack Woollen Mill 
(the Navy Yard property) but bought it before his lease 
expired; and, with August Fels as agent, the property 
has been since in successful oi)eration. There remains 
at this time, in the vicinit}^, little or nothing made use 
of by the Stanleys or their immediate successors. 

In this connection it will not be out of place to 
state that we have been informed that Ezekiel Hale's 
son Ezekiel became the well-known and successful Grove- 
land manufacturer, E. J. M. Hale, deceased a few years 
since. 

A daughter of Artemas, the eldest of the Stanley 
brothers, who figured conspicuously in the early history 
of manufacturing in Dracut, married Silas T3ler, a 



54 OLD KESIDEXTS" HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



native of this vicinity, and prominently before the public 
for many years. A. S. Tyler, a member of the Old Resi- 
dents' Association and a well-known and esteemed 
citizen, is an issue of that union and bears the full name 
of his ^grandfather on his mother's side. 

After the Stanleys began business in Dracut the 
place was known as Stanleys' Mills. It did not receive 
its present name — the Navy Yard — until some time 
since 1820, we think. About that time and later, during 
the winter and spring months, large quantities of oak 
ship-timber were brought there from a distance of six 
or eight miles around; aud after the ice left the river, 
and the danger from great freshets was jmssed, the tim- 
ber was rolled into the stream and directly was in the 
Merrimack and on the way to Newburyport, or possibly 
to other ship-building points — perha])S Boston and 
Charlestowu. It was a favorable location for this kind 
of business. On the east side of Beaver Brook, in the 
vicinity of the present bridge, was Bradley's Lauding, and 
on the west side Varnum's Landing — both good points 
from which to get the timber afloat. At certain times 
the ground, several acres in extent, about the landings, 
was thickly covered Avith logs of all sizes and shapes, aud 
sometimes they encroached upon the higiiway. Some one 
saw in the appearance of the place the semblance of a 
veritable navy jard, aud the suggestion gave it that 
name, which has clung to it to the present time. There 
were exciting scenes occasionally at these landings, 
when the timber was ndled over the banks and into the 
brook. The peculiar condition of things, which gave it 
the name, having long ceased to exist, might it not be 
well to re-christen the place, aud give it a name not so 
much of a misnomer as that which it has long borne? 
But this is a subject of more importance to the residents 
of the place than to outsiders. 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOxM- 55 



Not long after the death of Ezekiel Hale his son 
Moses moved to East Chelmsford, erected a building on 
fliver Meadow Brook (which later took his name) and 
began the business already described, which had been 
taught him by his father. The building was from fifteen 
to twenty rods below the present bridge on (Jorham 
Street, which was known at that time as " the Boston 
road," which spans the aforenamed stream. He very 
soon required larger accommodations, and built another 
mill, this time above the bridge. Here, in 1801, he 
introduced the first carding-machine (a crude affair, it 
may be conjectured,) that was brought into this section 
of the state, and he was then able to card the wool of 
the farmers into rolls. The place early became known 
as Hale's Mills, and is so kmn^n today, although tlie 
property many years ago passed out of the hands of those 
bearing the name of Hale. His sons, Perley and Bernice 
S. Hale, carried on the business established by him, and 
managed the grist and saw mills for some years after 
his death; but, eventually, it passed from their control. 
Fire and the " noiseless foot of time " have had much to do 
with the eft'acement of the original -buildings, but little of 
which is left. The property now, we are told, belongs to 
Mr. Josiah Butler, dealer in cotton waste. 

But Mr. Hale engaged in other enterprises, the most 
important of which was powder-making, in the year 1818, 
in which he was the pioneer in this part of the state. The 
late Oliver M. Whipple came to East Chelmsford from 
another town in the state to which he had gone from 
Vermont, to enter the employ of Mr. Hale as superin- 
tendent of his powder- works, having elsewhere acquired 
a practical knowledge of the process of manufacturing 
powder. He, eventually, with others, succeeded to the 
whole business, and was its manager as long as powder 
was made here, or until about 1856, when the business 
was entirely abandoned. 



0() OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIAl'ION. 



% 



When Mr. Hale's powder-works were coniplett^l (to 
go back a little) he iuvited Gov. John Brooks, who filled 
the chief magistrate's chair from 181G to 1823, to visit 
East Chelmsford and inspect his enterprises. That he 
accepted the invitation and came is undoubtedly true, 
but that his council (as legend has it) also came, lacks 
confirmation. The official records of the council for 1818 
are silent on the subject; the leading Boston newspapers 
made no mention of any such occurrence — not even the 
governor's visit. It probably was not an official affair. 
Crovernor Brooks resided in Medford. His residence was 
on the most direct road from Boston to East Chelmsford, 
Moses Hale, the enterprising, i)ublic-s])irited gentleman, 
or very nearly so. Undoubtedly he personally knew 
owner and manager of a fulling-mill, a carding-mill, a 
grist-mill, a saw-mill, and last, and most important of all, 
a set of i»owder-mills. He also may liave been aware 
of the fact that Mr. Hale lived in the finest house in 
town, and that he was a citizen whose acquaintance and 
influence were worth courting. It was also a very nat- 
ural thing, and withal a very proi)er one, for Mr. Hale 
to do, to invite his excellency to visit Hale's Mills, for 
manv mills he surelv had: and he could entertain in a 
manner worthy of one in such a liigh and important 
rank — possibly in grander style than any other citizen 
within the town's limits. It would be for Governor 
Brooks only a pleasant daj^'s outing to visit the place, 
and we presume he came, with a few personal frieuls 
and more or less "pomp and circumstance." Elisha 
Davis, a native of the place, born in 1799, is said to have 
stated that lie was a member of a military company 
which did escort duty on the day of the visit. There 
are no records by which can Ix^ fixed the date; there is 
no one living able to name the month in which the visit 
was made; and still it was a famous occasion in the 
history of the i)lace. Of course, after the x>owder-works 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOM. 57 



had been iiis]»e(ted, there was a banquet at the Hale 
mansion; very likely there were speeches by the o;()Yernor 
and others after the repast had been served, and perhai)s 
" music by the band," Bnt there was no " chiel amonij: 
them takiu' notes " to make record of the event for the 
entertainment of later orenerations. It was an honor 
then, as it is now, to have a visit from the j^overnor of 
Massachusetts. Seventv-six years later a citizen of Low- 
ell is the oovernor of the rommonwealth and carries the 
honors of his high office with becoming gravity in the 
presence of liis appreciative neighbors and fellow- 
townsmen. 

In 1800 or '10 Mr. Hale made the cloth for a suit of 
clothes for (xen. Joseph B, Varunm, of Draciit, who was 
representative in Congress front this s(M-tion from 1T05 
to 1811, and ^^peaker of the House his hist two terms. 
Mr. Hale selected sufficient wool of tlie finest quality 
procurable, carded it in his own machine and then sent it 
to women in the neighborhood noted for their skill as 
spinners and weavers. On being returned to him a vib 
of cloth, it was ])ut through the usual processes of fullin ", 
napping, coloring (blue), shearing and pressing, all in 
the best manner. Of this cloth a full suit of clothing in 
the latest style (with briglit buttons, of course,) was 
made for the distinguished Speaker of tlie National 
House of Representatives. Undoubtedly (leu. ^'arnum 
wore it with feelings of pleasure and pi-ide as evidence 
of the skill and mechanical ability of his constituents. 
Although the preceding incident is not as interesting an 
illustration of the patriotic spirit, skill and indomitable 
perseverance of the mothers and daughters of our 
country in the days of the Revolution, who, it is said, 
had sheep sheared, carded and spun the wool, wove and 
dyed the cloth, and made of it a suit of clothing — all in 
less than twenty-four hours' time — that the eager youth 
of the family might lake up arms M'ith neighbors and 



OcS OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



friends against the common enemy; still it serves to show 
the methods and means of doing business in this place 
at a date almost within the memory of men now living 
here. 

About the time Mr. Hale seems to have been at the 
height of his success (in 1812 and '13) he built the large 
house which still crowns the eminence but a short dis- 
tance back of the old mill. It was an elegant location and 
the house was regarded for manv vears as the finest that 
could be named for miles around. Mr. Hale occupied it 
manv vears. Business reverses, however, after a time 
compelled him to vacate it; and in 1830 it was bought at 
an auction sale by the late Joshua Swan, who was a prom- 
inent man in the public affairs of the town and city 
of Lowell for a number of years. Directly after it was 
purchased Mr. Swan rented one-half to the late Josiah B. 
French, who remained a tenant about two years. The old 
house still stands, but the glory of its early years has 
departed, never to return. Yes, it has changed, but not 
more than have its surroundings. It survives all who 
lived in the neighborhood at the time it was erected, and 
there are not many older houses within the limits of our 
city. Mr. Hale died in 1828. He was a man of much 
importance for many years in the business affairs of his 
part of the town. His name is perpetuated in Hale's 
Brook and Hale Street, each in the vicinity of his many 
enterprises. 



Allen's History of Chelmsford, published in 1820, 
says that " during the restrictions upon commerce and 
the unhappy war with (Ireat Britain the attention of the 
moneyed men was considerably directed to domestic man- 
ufactories. There being a very commodious seat for a 
manufactory on Concord River, about three hundred rods 
from its entrance into the Merrimack River, Capt. 
Phineas AVhiting and Col. Josiali Fletcher erected a large 



BEFOEE THE POWER-LOOM. 59 



building thereon. It was sixty feet long by tifty feet 
wide and forty feet high. It was intended for a cotton 
mannfaetory and cost abont |2500." 

This was in 1813. The building, we learn from 
other sources, was first occupied by John Goulding, who 
came to East Chelmsford the year previously. He says 
the mill was built for him and that he leased it for eight 
years at a rent of |200 per annum. It stood on the east- 
ern site of the present plant of the Middlesex Company. 
We quote his own words: "I carried on the business of 
spinning cotton yarn in a small way, as all our manu- 
facturing was done at that tim(\ Spun about 20 pounds 
of yarn per day. Also had a carding-machine for carding 
custom wool for s])inning by hand, making what was 
called homespun cloth. Carried on a machine shop for 
making cotton and wool machinery; made looms for 
weaving suspender webbing and boot webbing, and a 
tape loom to weave 3(> pieces at one time. I occupied the 
building some four years, when it was purchased by 
Thomas Ilurd, who fitted it up for making sal in t. 
. . . I built a small mill on the canal properly 
and took water from the canal and made machinery 
there. Help fit up Hurd's mill. I moved from East 
Chelmsford just before the canal company s(dd out to the 
present owners, who came into possession and estab- 
lished Lowell. Mr. Nathan Tyler built a grist-mill just 
below me on the canal." 

Mr. Goulding's mill or machine-shop was on the left 
or west side of Pawtucket (or Hamilton) Canal, about 
where it was later tapped for the Eastern Canal, which 
supplies power for the Prescott and Massachusetts mills, 
almost back of the store of O. A. Richardson, gunsmith, 
No. lOS Central Street. He went from East Chelmsford 
to Worcester, where he died a few years ago. During 
his life he made many improvements in machinery for 
cotton and wool manufacturing and won quite a repu- 



60 OLD RESIDENTS" HTSTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



tation as an inyentor. He seems also to have given some 
attention to impractical schemes — something of the 
" Cohvell motor" character, we judge, from the manner 
in which he referred to it. In a letter to the late Col. J. 
B. French (from whicli we have already quoted), dated 
April 4, 1874, or about ten years before the Oolwell 
motor craze in Lowell, he said he had " a device to stop 
explosions of boilers; save onedmlf the fuel now nsed in 
creating steam or vapor for power; to go on any river, no 
matter how muddy tlie water. I use no water to create 
power, but bisulphate of carbon instead; could drive the 
Great Eastern or sui)p]y power for any other purpose 
wanted." Mr. Goulding seems to have lived at East 
Chelmsford about ten years; but we have found no trace 
of him in any other place than that which we have 
already described. 



The history to wliich we have referred makes no 
mention of Jonathan Knowles, who Avas associated with 
Mr. Goulding in manufacturing, nor does Mr, Goulding 
himself speak of him; but it is a fact that they together 
rented the mill which Whiting and Fletcher built, 
and they were associate partners until they failed 
and the building i)assed into the hands of Mr. 
Hurd, as elsewhere mentioned. This fact is confirmed 
by the late John A. Knowles and also by Joseph W. Man- 
sur, both of whom havt^ said that the firm was doing a 
good business when the war with England closed (in 
1815); that then the letting in of cheap foreign fabrics put 
an end to their operations. According to Mr. Mansur, Mr. 
Knowles i)ut in the machinery for manufacturing woollen 
goods — putting his ca])ital against Mr. Goulding's skill 
as a mechanic and manufacturer. John A. Knowles (who 
was not a relative of his namesake) says that the firm 
employed about twenty operatives (mostly women) and 
paid them seventy-five cents and board per week I Tliey 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOM. 61 



manufactiuvd cotton and woollen yarns "for country 
weaving " — that is, tlieir yarns were sold to go into 
families in Chelmsford, Dracnt and Tewksbnry, wliere 
tliey were woven into cloth by the mothers and daugh- 
ters. The yarns were sold at the country stores and also 
by peddlers. 

After the failure of Knowles and (loulding and the 
sale of the mill to Mr, Hard, Mr. Knowles was advised 
to go to manufacturing cotton batting, lb' retained or 
bought c(^rtain ])arts of the machinery which the firm had 
used in the mill, rented the loft in Hale's saw-mill, on 
River ^Meadow Brook (now known as Hale's Brook), and 
began making cotton batting. He had experimented 
with the cotton-waste, which the mills turned into the 
river to get rid of it, and was the first man to convert it 
into merchandise. He went, to the Merrimack Manufact- 
nring Company and offered one cent a pound for all the 
waste they could sup]dy him with. His offer was accepted 
and for several years he made use of it, having a monop- 
oly in this vicinity in the manufacturing of cotton bat- 
ting; but finally others engaged in the business and the 
price of tlu^ waste was largely increased. 

There was little use for cotton batting in this part 
of the state at the time of which we speak. The women 
did not seem to realize the uses to which it could be put. 
Mr. Knowles is said to have suggested to his wife that in 
other places it was used for making bed-coverings, 
sewing the batting between sheets of cotton cloth; and 
that must have been the origin of the coverlet, generally 
spoken of in New England as "comforter." The idea was 
illustrated in the Knowles family and worked satisfacto- 
rily. Mrs. Knowles and other ladies took the hint from 
this use of cotton batting and made cushions for their 
pews in St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, which 
was from 1827 to 1839 located in a building at the corner 
of Central and Elm Streets. Mr. Knowles continued in 



t)2 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



the business of making cotton batting for many year?>; 
but moved his manufactory^ from Hale's mill to Cliambers 
Street, lower down on the same stream, some years before 
he ceased to manufacture. He did something for a time 
with a small laundry; but eventually changed the build- 
ing into tenements, which was the last use he made of it. 
Mr. Knowles was born in Eastham, March 16, 11^0; 
came to East Chelmsford in 1813, and died March 20, 
186G. 



Thomas Hurd, wlio succeeded Messrs. Goulding and 
Knowles, came to East Chelmsford from Charlestown 
(one account says from Stoneham) in 1818. The Chelms- 
ford historian (Allen) speaks of him as '^ an enterprising 
gentleman," and says he repaired and lifted up the mill 
'^ for a woollen manufactory. Sixteen looms, worked by 
water, were emploj-ed in nuiking satinet, of which 
about one hundred and twenty yards per day were manu- 
factured. This estimate includes the coloring, carding 
and spinning of the wool, weaying and dressing of the 
cloth. He employed of both sexes about twenty iiersons. 
Machinery: 1() looms worked by water; 1 winder of 50 
bobbins, 1 winder for warping 8 spindles, 1 Columbian 
spinner of 200 sjjindles, 3 coppers for dyeing — one for 
blue of iOO gallons and sumller ones for other colors, 3 
double carding-machines." 

It will be seen that Mr. Hurd was well equipped for 
business for that period — apparently very much better 
than had been the previous manufacturers of East 
Chelmsford. After his purchase of the Whiting and 
Fletcher mill, he seems to have built an additional one, 
a short distance away, in order to enlarge his resources; 
Mr. Croulding says he helped tit it u]). He continued to 
manufacture without serious check, the six or seven suc- 
ceeding years. But on the 30th of June, 1826, tlie 
original mill and most of the machinery were destroyed 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOIH. (Vo 



bj firp. It was the first fire that had occurred in the 
flourisliino- viRaoe. The mill was at the time in part 
occnpied for spinning cotton war]> for the satinets, that 
were woven in the second mill, which was unharmed. 
Mr. Ilnrd leased the bnildine: Avhich Mr. (lonhlinji; had 
erected on the opposite (or western) side of the canal, and 
in a short time resumed work. This bnildino; he occu- 
pied while rebuildinii', of brick and in a snbstantial man- 
ner, on the site of the one destroyed. The late Hon. 
Jefferson Bancroft was the superintendent of Mr. Hurd's 
mills, and from him we obtained most of the pre;edin<Tj 
particulars. Hon. J. (i. Peabody, who still abides witli 
us, was present at this fire and remembers also the pres- 
ence of Kirk Boott and his personal appearance on the 
occasion. Mr. Hurd continued in the business till 1828, 
when he sold to the Middlesex Company or to parties who 
finally conveyed the property to that comyjany. Previous 
to this, in 1820, he purchased a mill-site on the river 
below Pawtucket Falls, put in a foundation and erected 
thereon a small buildino- intended for a mill. He also 
went so far as to construct and add to this enterprise a 
water-wheel, but the undertakino- ceased at that point. 
Eventually he sold his interest in the site, presumably to 
the Locks and Canals Company. The buildinii' was taken 
down and conveyed piecemeal to the scene of his opera- 
tions on Concord River. The water-wheel was floated 
down the Merrimack, towed up the Concord and put to 
service at the same point. The foundations at Pawtucket 
Falls were discernible, until within a few years, from the 
southern side of the Merrimack Biver, and ]>()ssibly por- 
tions of them may \ei be found, should one visit the spot. 
Mr. Hurd must have had rather large ideas as to the 
advantages of Concord River for manufacturing pur- 
poses; for he bought land on both sides of it, ])erliaps 
with the idea of controlling the water-power, that he 
niiglit select his neighbors or competitors. It was some- 



64 OLD RESIDENTS' HIsrOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



time ill 1818 that Winthrop Howe, who came from New 
Hami)shii'e, boiioht a mill-site of him, nearly opposite <»f 
his first purchase. Mr. Ilowe tore down the old saw-mill 
which stood upon his purchase and put up a building 
suitable for manufacturino- flannel bv hand-looms and 
for carryino; on the various branches of the business lead- 
ing u]) to it. He sold to Harrison G. Howe, who added 
poAver-looms. Eventually it changed hands again and 
became known as the Relvidere Flannel Mill, the late 
Charles Stott agent. The building was burned early 
Thursday morning, Xovember 15, 1852. The watcliman, 
James Law, thirty-three years old, lost his life in the mill 
at the time of this fire. A number of the adjoining build- 
ings were destroyed. The fire entirely removed tlie mill 
which had been erected by Winthrop Howe and occupied 
respectively by himself and Harrison G. Howe. It was 
the first woollen manufactory erected in Belvidere. It 
occupied in part the site of the present plant of the Bel- 
videre Woollen Company, of which lion. Charles A. Stott 
is agent, succeeding his father, Charles Stott. 



The late Charles Stott, so often mentioned in lliis 
paper, Avas born in Lancashire, England, August 21, 1799. 
He came to this country in 1826, and located in Andover. 
In 1828 he went to Dracut and with others (as already 
shown) engaged in manufacturing flannels, etc. After 
his marriage he lived on River Street (now Lakeview 
Avenue), near Bridge Street. There his son, Hon. 
Charles A. Stott, was born, August 18, 1835. After 
severing his connection with the Dracut mill he was 
selected as agent of the Belvidere Flannel Mill, and came 
to Lowell to reside the same 3'ear, 1835. Centrah'ille was 
not at that time a part of Lowell. In 1838 he was resid- 
ing on Ash Street, in Belvidere. The Belvidere Flannel 
Mill failed, and later he went to manufacturing with 
Ezra Farnsworth as ])artner. Still later the Belvidere 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOM. ()5 



Woollen Company came into existence as an organiza- 
tion, and Mr. Stott was chosen agent, and was holding 
that position at the time of his death, June 14, 1881. Me 
was an active, energetic man, thoroughly understand- 
ing his calling and in love with it; square in his deal- 
ings and respected by all — a valuable man in this city 
and vicinitv, where he resided about tiftv vears. 



There must have been a misapprehension of the facts 
in the minds of those who have written concerning the 
early days of East Chelmsford — its population and 
industries. It was more of a place than represented to 
have been. Rev. H. A. Miles's work, " Lowell as it was 
and as it is," published in 1845, says that " East Chelms- 
ford in 1820 had two hundred population." " A few 
scattered farm-houses, the store, the tavern, the humble 
wooden factory, the few small buildings for the powder- 
works, the two grist-mills — this was nearly all the place 
possessed." Nathan Appleton, in the " Origin of Lowell," 
issued in 1858, says that the first visit to the spot of Pat- 
rick T. Jackson, Kirk Boott, Warren Dutton, Paul Mooily, 
John W. Boott and himself, was "made in the month of 
November, 1821, and a slight snow covered the ground. 
. . . . AVe perambulated the grounds and scanned the 
capabilities of the place, and the remark was made that 
some of us might live to see the place contain twenty 
thousand inhabitants. At that time there were, I think, 
less than a dozen houses on what now constitutes the city 
of Lowell or rather the thickly settled parts of it — that 
of Nathan Tyler, near the corner of Merrimack and Bridge 
Streets; that of Josiah Fletcher, near the Boott Mills; the 
house of Phineas Whiting, near Pawtucket Bridge; the 
house of Mrs. Warren, near what is now Warren Street; 
the house of Judge Livermore, east of Concord River, then 
called Belvidere, and a few otliers." 



ii6 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



More than twenty years ago a gentleman " to the 
manner born" — Joseph W. Mansnr — wrote ns and made 
the following enumeration concerning East Chelmsford: 
" In 1820 there were fiftv-one houses, all occupied, in the 
oriirinal Lowell — three in Belvidere and eleven in Gen- 
tralville There were, besides the dwelling- 
houses, four coopers' shops, a machine-shop, a black- 
smith's sliop, a fulling, dressing and carding-mill, 
woollen-mill, iron-works (Ames & Fisher's, on Concord 
River, between Andover and Rogers Streets), powder- 
mills, two grist-mills, three stores, two hotels, a cabinet- 
maker's shop, two school houses," and others. In all 
there must have been four hundred people in the [dace 
before a purchase had been made or a blow strucl; by 
the Boston capitalists in pursuit of a site for a great 
manufacturing centre. The estimate of our corrps]ion<l- 
ent did not include the three houses in Belvidere and the 
eleven in Centralville, for they were not on territory 
included when East Chelmsford became the town of 
Lowell, in 182(i. We have other reasons for believing 
the calculation to be correct. As early as 1803, beginning 
at a dwelling-house which stood on the site of one of the 
Gage ice-houses, on Pawtucket Street, and including 
those on a direct line on the right, south, and north and 
east to the Merrimack and Concord rivers, there w^ere 
thirty dwelling-houses, each of which was mentioned 
and location described in a paper which appeared in the 
first volume of Old Residents' Contributions. 



Thus have we attempted to enumerate and locate the 
manufactories that gradually struggled into existence 
in this vicinity previous to the advent of the power-loom. 
And including them all — that on Beaver Brook in Dra- 
cut, those on River Meadow Brook and Concord River in 
East Chelmsford — they were of great importance to this 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOM. 67 



section of Massachusetts. It will be noticed that up to 
this time there had been no attempt made to harness the 
voluminous waters of the Merrimack — only its tributaries 
had been made the seiwants of the manufacturers. Saw- 
mills and irrist-mills may have been built at diiferent 
periods above and below the great falls. The smaller 
streams, which were more easily and cheaply controlled, 
furnished sufficient power for all avIio came to East 
Chelmsford up to 1821. 



The story of the introduction of the power-loom is 
fully related by Nathan Appleton, in a pamphlet of thirty- 
six pages, already referred to, entitled " Introduction of 
the Power Loom and Origin of Lowell." It is quite 
unnecessary that we should refer to it further than to 
make plain a few simple facts. Francis O. Lowell, about 
1811, while in England, obtained what information he 
could concerning the power-loom, then but recently 
invented and put in operation in that country. Mr. Low- 
ell returned home in 1813 and at once undertook to make 
a loom. His experimental machine was built in Boston. 
A water-po^ver had been purchased the year previously 
in Waltham and a charter for a cotton manufacturing 
company obtained; undoubtedly the first trial at weaving 
on a power-loom was made in that town. In the autumn 
of 1814 Mr. Lowell invited Mr. Appleton to go and see his 
loom in operation, and the latter says: "I recollect the 
state of admiration and satisfaction with which we sat 
by the hour watching the beautiful movement of this 
new and wonderful machine, destined, as it evidently was, 
to change the character of all textile industries." 

The first real success at carding and spinning cotton 
by power in this country was accomplished at Pawtucket, 
B. I., Dec. 20, 1790, by Samuel Slater. He had made the 
machinery and he superintended all the details of putting 



68 OLD KESIDENTS' HISTOPJCAT. ASSOCIATIOX. 



it ill (>i)erati()ii at tliat place. The weaviujj; of the yarn 
which lie turned out was for more than twenty years 
done on lianddoonis. Only a year or two after Mr. Lowell 
had brought out his loom (in 1814) William Gilmore 
appeared in Khode Island and secured a patent for a 
power-loom, radically unlike the Lowell loom. One was 
put in operation the same year in North Providence, and 
that kind of loom, improved, was in use at the time of 
the " Slater Cotton Centennial," in Pawtucket, in ISDO. 



When Mr. Lowell's power-loom was set up in Wal- 
tham, a complete cotton mill, with carding, spinning and 
weaving in one building, w^ent into operation for the first 
time in this country. All the branches of manufacturing 
cotton and wool, which had previously been done in pri- 
vate residences, began to languish in ITHO; and manufact- 
ories sprang into existence in all parts of the country. 
Previous to that date it surprises one not conversant with 
the facts to learn how universally the women were 
engaged in that occupation. We have been entertained 
by the records of exploits of the ladies of 1787 and later 
years, who gathered at " the parsonage-house" to spin for 
the minister's family and at other places for equally 
worthy objects. The day's labor generally closed with a 
religious service, with a sing ov a dance, according to the 
propriety of the occasion. We quote from newspapers of 
the period referred to brief but interesting accounts of 
gatherings for the purpose of spinning for special 
purposes. 

(vSalem Mercury, April 28, 1787.) " Not long ago a 
number of ladies belonging to the Presbyterian society 
in Newbury-Port assembled at the parsonage-house, with 
their spinning-wheels and their utensils of industry, for 
the day, to the benefit of the minister's family. The 
assemblv having first united in the solemn exercises of 



BEFORE THE POWER- LOOM. 69 



social worship, the business of the day was be<»;nii. Every 
apartment in tlie house was opened. The niusiek of the 
spinnino-wheel resounded from every room. Benev(dence 
was seen smiliuii,- in every countenance, and tlie har- 
mony of hearts surpassed even the liarmony of wheels. 
The labors of the dav were concluded about 5 o'clock, 
when the fair laborers presented Mrs. Murray with cotton 
and linen varn of the best quality amountint; to 236 
skeins. Necessary refreshments being past, public wor- 
ship was attended and a discourse delivered by Kev. Mr. 
Murray to a large assembly, from Exodus xxxv: 25 — 
' And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with 
their hands.' " 

(Cumberland (lazette, rorthuid, Me., May 8, 1788.) 
" On the 1st inst. assembled at the house of Rev. Samuel 
Deane of this town more than one hundred of the fair sex 
— married and single ladies — most of whom were skilled 
in the important art of spinning. An emulous industry 
was never more apparent than in this beautiful assembly. 
The majority of fair hands gave motion to not less than 
fifty wheels, beside those who attended to the enter- 
tainment of the rest — provision for which was mostly 
presented by the guests themseh'es, or sent in by other 
generous jM'omoters of the exhibition, as were also the 
materials for the work. Near the close of the day Mrs. 
Deane was presented by the company with two hundred 
and thirtj'-six seven-knotted skeins of excellent cotton 
and linen yarn, the work of the day, excepting about a 
dozen skeins which some of the company brought in 
ready spun. Some had spun six and many not less than 

five skeins apiece To conclude and 

crown the day, a numerous band of the best singers 
attended in the evening and performed an agreeable vari- 
ety of excellent pieces in psalmody. ' The price of a vir- 
tuous woman is above rubies She lay- 



70 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



etli hev hands to the spindle and her hands hold the 

distaif; " 

(1788.) In Gloucester, on a certain Thursday " nearly 

30 young- ladies, inspired with the love of industry', 
assembled at the house of C'apt. Philemon Haskell for the 
praiseworthy purpose of a Federal Spinniuijj-Match, when 
to their honor their spirited exertion produced 99 skeing 
of excellent yarn — practically declaring tlmt they neither 
labored in vain nor spent their strength for naught. The 
day thus industriously concluded finished not the har- 
mony of their fe<leration; in the evening, to crown the 
pleasure of the day, Avitli additional company, they 
regaled with an agreeable dance, and at a modest hour 
parted in love and friendship, with hearts convivial as 
they met, leaving others to admire their female patriot- 
ism and go and do likewise." 

The disappearance of the spinning-wheel was not 
regarded by all as a blessing unmixed with regret, 
although it took from the homes a great amount of hard, 
exacting labor that fell to the lot of the wives and daugh- 
ters. In an agricultural address, the speaker took this 
rather despondent view of the departure of the spinning- 
wheel. 

(Salem Observer, 1834.) "The establishment of 

extensive manufactories and the introduction of power- 
looms and spinning-jennies has nearly destroyed the 
usual household manufactures and put other Jennies out 
of employment. Our ears are seldom greeted now-a-days 
in the farmer's cottage with the flying of the shuttle or the 
deep base of the spinning-wheel. We confess tliat we 
have looked upon their departure with a strong feeling 
of regret; and deem it no small abatement of the advan- 
tages which the establishment of extensive manufactures 
has obviously yielded to the country, that it removes the 
daughter from the shelter and security of tlie paternal 
roof and places her in a situation which certainly fur- 



BEFORE THE POWER-LOOM. 71 



nislies no means of qualifying her for the proper (lei)art- 
ment of woman --- to preside over our <h)niestic estab- 
lishments, to perform her part in the joint labors of the 
honsehold, and to know how and where to use, prepare 
and to apply to the best advantage within doors the pro- 
duct of man's labor without doors." 



And now a verv few words coneernino- other matters 
relating to early manufacturing in this place. 

The first jiiece of cotton cloth produced by the Merri- 
mack Manufacturing Company was woven by Miss Deb- 
orah Skinner. She commenced work for the company on 
the 8th day of October, 1823, having come to East 
Chelmsford to instruct girls in weaving. Paul bloody, 
who came the same year, to superintend the company's 
machine-shop, brought Miss Skinner in his })rivate car- 
riage. Commencing on the 8th of the month she was 
under pay but apparently alone in the mill until the 19th 
of October. It is more than probable that other young 
women were at work, but allowed nothing for their labor 
previous to the 19th, or Avliile learning to weave under 
Miss Skinner's instruction. 

We have been told that Miss Skinner was born in 
Manslield, this state, and that she had been for some time 
employed in the cotton mill at Waltham previous to com- 
ing to East Chelmsford. She worked for the Merrimack 
Company about five years, when she was married to Hor- 
ace Barbour, an overseer in the employ of the same cor- 
poration. The marriage took place October 21, 1828. 
Quite a number of years later Mr. Barbour moved his 
family to Lewiston, Maine, and there Mrs. Barbour died, 
March 11, 1870, at the mature age of 71 years. These 
facts were communicated to us by Mr. Barbour, Sept. 12, 
1874. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Barbour, at that 
time living, were Horace and Charles, traders, in Lewis- 



72 OLD IJESIDEXrS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



ton, and a dangliter, Helen, wlio married a Mr. Wood of 

Anbnrn, Maine, 

AVhile spending- the winter of 1891 in Sontliern Califor- 
nia, we several times met at Riverside and Los Angeles, 
Mr. ^Y. W. Wilson, who was born in Lowell and here 
si)eut the most of the years of his minority. On one occa- 
sion he spoke of the connection of his nncle, William B. 
Wilson, with the very beginning of carpet-making by the 
Lowell Mannfactnring Company, and gave ns the follow- 
ing facts: William B. Wilson was one of the twenty and 
more who came back with Alexander Wright, who went 
to Scotland in 1825 to procnre looms and workmen skilled 
in the business, with the idea of establishing an extensive 
carpet-mannfactory at Medway, a small town in Norfolk 
Connty, ten or twelve miles from Boston. In 182G, with 
Mr. Wright at the head, work was begnn; but carpet- 
weaving had an exceedingly brief existence in Med- 
wav, for the business, machinerv and stock were soon 
bought by Boston capitalists, Avho also engaged those 
of whom they bought and their employees, to remove to 
East Chelmsford to engage in the same calling on a much 
larger scal<\ The manufacture of coach-lace had previ- 
ously been carried on by Mr. AVright of Medway. Among 
those who came to Lowell in 1829 were Royal South- 
wick, Peter Lawson, Claudius and William B. Wilson, 
Joseph Exley and John Hughes. The work of building 
the lirst carpet-mill was begun in March, 1828, and it 
was completed the following year and ready for the " Med- 
wnv Colonv." Hand-looms onlv were used in carpet- 
weaving until 184(1. Mi-. Wright was agent from 1828 to 
1852, or till the time of his death. 

"My uncle, William B. AVilson," said our inforuuuit, 
" was a practical designer and weaver. He put the ' har- 
ness ' into the loom, designed the first i)attern, his wife 
cut and sewed the cards, and he wove the tirst three yards 
of carpeting made in Lowell. And on bright new-year's 



BEFOKE THE POVVEU-LOOM. 7o 



inorniuj;-, 1830, with sleigli-belLs jiujiliug merril}', Messrs. 
Wright and ^Mls()ll took this tirst fniit of their kibor to 
Boston, to sliow wliat could be, and what liad been, 
done in the new carpet company's mill. Mr. Wright re- 
mained in Lowell till his death. My uncle started fac- 
tories in other parts of New England, but returned to 
Lowell, where he died July 5, 18G2. His wife died in 
Lowell some eight or nine years later." * 

*Thc following letter by the late Hon. Peter Lawson was addressed to the committee ap- 
pointed by the City Council to make the necessary arrangements for the celebration of the fiftieth 
anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Lowell, ^[arch i, 1876, in reply to an invi- 
tation to be present. It, in a measure, confirms some of the statements concerning the removal 
of "The Medway Colony" to Lowell, and gives other interesting facts concerning the earliest 
steps toward establishing the Lowell (Carpet) Manufacturing Works. 

" LdWELi,, February 29, 1876. 

"Gentlemen: I accept with pleasure your invitation of the 25th inst. ; and as I am the only 
man now living of those who came from Medway to Lowell in 1829, 1 will give you my 
recollections of that Medway Colony. 

" The manufacture of ingrain carpets was started in Medway in 1826 by Alexander Wright and 
Eben Burdett of Boston. They had ten ingrain looms, one Brussells loom and one finger-rug 
loom; and their establishment was the first of the kind in the United States. They were in suc- 
cessful operation in 1827, when a committee, consisting of F'rederick Cabot, George W. Lyman and 
Patrick T. Jackson, visited the establishment, bought out all they had and took them into their own 
employ. 

" The Lowell Manufacturing Company (organized in 1828) ordered them to build fifty more 
ingrain looms, eleven more Brussells looms and seven more finger- rug looms. All who had been 
employed in the carpet manufactory at Medway, excepting Mr. Burdett, removed to Lowell in 1820- 
They were ."Mexander Wright, agent : Peter Lawson, pattern designer; Claudius Wilson, foreman : 
Royal Southwick, overseer; John Urie, section hand on looms; Joseph Exley, overseer Brussells 
looms; John Robertson and John Hughes, first and second overseer dye-house; Daniel Thurston; 
John TurnbuH, carpet clothroom; David Wilson, dyer; Henry Chandler, Benjamin Smith and 
George W. Hunt, wood workmen; William B. Wilson, finger-rug weaver; .Samuel Townsend, 
Thomas Railton, Job PHmpton, Gilmore Pond, Abel Brummett, Otis Bemis, Albert Adams, Hector 
McArthur and Benjamin Albee, weavers. 

"Frederick Cabot was the first treasurer and Frederick Emmerson the first clerk. Mr. 
Wright, the leader of the Medway Colony, remained agent of the Lowell Company till his death, 
June 8, 1852, at the age of fifty-two years. . . . The inventions of Claudius Wilson were fully 
described in the ' Glasgow Magazine ' for 1826. He was one of the most ingenious mechanics 
whom Scotland has contributed to aid in the development of the mechanic arts. 

" The brick buildings of the Company were erected by Elijah ^L Reed, who came to Lowell 
from Waltham, and who had charge of all the building operations, under the late Mr. Sanger. 

" The first railroad I ever saw (and it was probably the first one in .'Vmerica) extended from 
the Suffolk Canal through the woods of Lowell Street (then a dense forest) to the Lowell Company's 
grounds. The cars were drawn by horses, under direction of Hugh Cummiskey, contractor, 
who, with the excavations of the Suffolk Canal, made the land where the carpet mills now stand, 
much of the dump being twenty feet deep. 

" One thing that surprised me was the novel manner of constructing the foundations. These 
were laid on the original surface and the earth filled in around them to the desired height. Wells 
were constructed in the same way, the stone curbing laid on the top of the old ground and new 
ground made around it till a well of the de-iired depth had been built up. 

" The first building erected by the Carpet Company was the one-and-a-half story block now 
standing near the counting room. There for some time were wy own headquarters, and many a 



74 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



string of fine pickerel have I caught sitting on the front steps from the branch canal (which was 
built in the same way as were the wells), the waters of which washed the steps of my door. In 
later years, when the canal was constructed to the width originally designed, the present street 
was built between the block and the canal. These peculiarities arose from the fact that the land 
selected for the Carpet Company was originally a low swamp. 

" Yours truly, " PETER LAWSON." 

Janiiaiy 2, 1873, we received a note from the late 
James B. Francis, enclosing the following item, which he 
had copied from the diary of Kirk Boott. It fittingly 
ends our dealings with the past: 

"Jannaiw 3, 1824. 10 bales of goods sent off to 
Boston, being tne first lot sent off from the Merrimack." 



w 






;«^ 



%> 








V. Atmnal Address and Report. By Benjamin ]]'aJker, 
President. Read May 21, 1 bUl . 



In reviewing the labors of the Old Residents' Histori- 
cal Association, during the past year, there is not very 
much to report other than that it has continued to exist in 
its own quiet and unobtrusive way. Two new members 
have been added, and it has lost fifteen by death, some of 
whom were among the oldest and most respected of 
this association. These losses show that not many more 
years will elapse before all its original i)rojectors will 
have passed away, leaving only their labors of love in 
ccdlecting and preserving all that pertains to the histor- 
ical interests of our city, and the consequent inliuences 
which go so far towards preserving an unbroken link 
between the Lowell of 1822 and the present great city 
of 1895. From a mere handful of sagacious and ener- 
getic men, the spirit of manufacturing enterprise was 
centered on this spot, and those of us who have lived the 
allotted age of three score years and ten have witnessed 
its steady growth, have felt its mercantile power, and 
enjoyed the natural pride of seeing Lowell as it now is, a 
great and prosperous city. Its manufacturing corpora- 
tions and private business enterprises represent its finan- 
cial strength, its schools and its churches are its bul- 
warks of mental improvement and moral infiuence, its 
newspapers and its literary societies and organizations 
are the keystones of its general culture, and its hos]>itals 
and charitable institutions show the degree of human 
sympathy and interest in the weak and unfortunate 
which gives to life its chiefest joys and affords its great- 
est opportunities. Surely, in all this our hearts may well 



76 OLD RESIDENTS' IIISTOIUCAL ASSOCIATION. 



swell with pride, iind we may all rejoice that our lines 
have fallen in such pleasant places. 

Last year the plan of making some change in the head- 
quarters of this Association Avas suggested, the idea 
being, first, that it naturally belongs to and should have 
a foothold or an abiding place in the new Memorial Hall 
building, and, secondly, that its library would more fully 
accomplish its purpose and prove much more accessible 
and valuable in connection with the City Library. While 
such an arrangement was believed to possess special 
advantages, and while the trustees of the City Library 
irave unofficial assurances of their approval of such a 
plan, and their readiness to promote such a scheme in 
any way not incompatible with their public duties, noth- 
ing was done. One more year's experience, however, 
has convinced the Executive Committee of this Associa- 
tion not onlv of the desirabilitv but the necessity of tak- 
ing such a step, which will directly connect and identify 
us with the acknowledged literary headquarters of our 
citv, and aive an additional value to our own library as 
one of reference, easily and always accessible, because it 
will then be in its proper place. I am therefore author- 
ized, by a unanimous vote of the Executive Committee, to 
recommend that this change be made. In doing this it is 
desired, very gratefully, to acknowledge the favors 
es,tended to this Association by the Board of Trade, an<l 
the kindnesses so freely bestowed, which have made in 
many ways our stay so pleasant and agreeable. 

The change made in the bydaws last year with a view 
of affording opportunity for an increase of membership 
has not yet reached its full fruition. In the hurry and 
bustle of life the advantages arising from belonging to 
Huch an association as this are not so fully appreciated 
as they should be, and I again suggest the ])r()priety of 
adopting some special plan, by canvass or otherwise, 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND KEPORT. . i 



whereby a i^vstematic and earnest effort niav be made 
for eularji;ing our membership. 

As it is well known, the question of preparini;- and 
publishiui;- a new history of Lowell has recently attracted 
some attention, and a sentiment now prevails that the 
time has arrived when such a work should be undertaken. 
A public meeting was called at the Board of Trade rooms 
not long since, but not largely attended, to consider a 
proposition made by two New York gentlemen to per- 
form this service. The result was the formation of a 
special committee to consider and report upon the fea- 
sibility of the plan submitted. After a somewhat care- 
ful and thorougli investigation of the matter, and without 
here entering into detail in regard to it, this committee 
deeuu^d it inexpedient to recommend its adoption, and 
at the same time expressed the belief that a history of 
Lowell which would come Avithin reach and the means of 
all (lasses of our citizens, and one Avhich would insure 
their approval and encouragement, would very i)ro])erly 
emanate under the auspices of tliis Association. With- 
out intending further to discuss this subject at this time, 
or to formulate any plan, 1 venture to call the attention 
of our Executive Committee to tliis subject, with the hope 
that so imi)ortant a matter will receive their earlv and 
careful consideration. 

The deaths during the year, including those not 
embraced in the last annual report, have been as follows: 

ABEL E. (H)NAXT was born in Hardwick, Vermont, 
September 20th, 1819, came to Lowell February 14th, 
1834, and died February 5th, 1894, aged 74 years, 4 
months and 16 da vs. 

Mr. Oonant, Avho Avas one of LoAvell's best known citi- 
zens, Avas early identified Avith the express and trucking 
business in this city. My recollection of him (an<l I 
think he inaugurated the system of delivering local pack- 
ages) is in commencing business as a freiuht handler 



78 OLD IJESIDEXTS' HISTOKK'AL A8SOCIATIOX. 



witii a haua-cait, in which manner he pursued his calling 
for some years, being engaged at one time with David ^N. 
Gibb, under the firm name of Gibb & Conaut. As Mr. 
Conant's patronage increased, a single horse and wagon 
was substituted for the hand-cart, and he became local 
agent of the U. S. and Canada Express. From this 
beainuiuu- liis business extended until it became a large 
and thriving industry. 

Mr. (\)uant was a quiet and unobtrusive citizen, 
thoroughly couscientious in all his dealings, and died 
highly respected by all who knew him. 

BENJAMIN CONVERSE HILL was born at East 
\A^)burn, Mass., September 30tli, 1820, came to Lowell 
December 24tli, 1834, and died February 14th, 1894, aged 
73 years, 4 mouths and 15 days. 

Upon his arrival in Lowell, then only a lad of 14 
years, he found employment in the Hamilton Manufact- 
uring ComiKiuy, where he remained twenty-two years, 
serving in various capacities, in the meantime marrying 
and gathering about him an interesting family, who have 
always been, and still are, held in deservedly high esteem. 
In 185r» Mr. Hill transferred his business relations to the 
Suffolk Manufacturing Company, where, most of the 
time for thirty-three years, he had charge of the motiA'e 
power of this great corporation, retiring in 1889, in con- 
sequence of a severe injury received while in the per- 
formance of his duty, disabling him and rendering him 
au invalid during the remainder of his life. He was a 
charter member of the Veritas Lodge of Odd Fellows, 
and belonged to the Mouomake Encampment, but never 
held public office. 

In social life Mr. Hill was distinguished for his genial 
and affable qualities of character, and was, for many 
years, prominent in church choirs and the musical circles 
.of the city. Besides being possessed of a good tenor 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND KEPORT. 79 



voice, he had a remarkably keen perception of musical 
tones, and could correctly distinguish and name tlie 
" pitch " or *' key " of any music within his hearing — an 
accomplishment rarely attained eyen by th(^ tinest musi- 
cians. He was singularly free from those petty jealous- 
ies and animosities so common among musical people, 
always so sensitiye, being eyer ready to accord all honor 
and praise to superior talent. He also was of quite a 
poetic turn of mind, his effusions haying an air of agree- 
able pleasantly, and occasionally appearing in the public 
prints. They were always regarded with much fayor. 
Indeed, in a word: 

" How much to lie prized ami esteemed was this friemi, 
On whom we cnuld always with safety depend ! 
Dur joys, when extended, would always increase, 
And griefs, when divided, were hushed into peace." 

DAVID M. COLLINS was born July 31st, 1816, in 
Brentwood, N. H., came to Lowell October 10th, 1829, 
and died June 20th, 1894, aged 77 years and 10 months. 

On his arrival in Lowell he commenced work as a 
bobbin-boy on the Merrimack Corporation. He after- 
wards entered the uuichine re]>air shop of the same C(uu- 
pany, being in due time promoted to the position of over- 
seer in the weaving department, where he continued 
iifty-five years, until the day of his death. Mr. Collins 
was one of the early employes of the Merrimack Com- 
pany, and, as lias been the case of several of his asso- 
ciates, was eminently loyal and true to its interests. 

In 1S56 Mr. Collins was a member of the City CV)un- 
cil. He was one of the oldest members of Pentucket 
Lodge of Free Masons, was connected with three Odd 
Fellow organizati(ms, the Knights of Pythias, and had 
been for several years a member of the Executive Com- 
mittee of this Association. He was i<lentified with the 
Shattuck Street Cniversalist Church from its oraaniza- 



80 OLD RESIDENTS- lUSmiJlCAE ASSOCIATION. 



tion, and was one of its most constant worshippers, nntil 
overtaken by tlie infirmities of a^e. 

In private life Mr. Collins was esteemed for liis 
marked intei-ritv and npright eliaracter, enj<\Yino;, as lie 
did, the confidenee and respeet of all with whom he was 
associated. 

JOSEPH K. HAYES was born in Barustead, X. IL, 
March 7th, 1818, came to Lowell September 1st, 1847, 
and died July 2(;th, 1891, at Methnen, Mass., a^^ed 70 
years. 

For a ])eriod of nearly thirty years Dr. Hayes was 
a well-known and highly-respected druggist, at what was 
then known as No. 12 Central Street, where he man- 
ufactured several proprietary articles still bearing his 
name, which he administered for temporary ailments. 
Many were the deeds of kindness which the Doctor took 
pleasure in performing for the poor and afflicted, and in 
dispensing his charities in this quiet although most sub- 
stantial wav. He was a trustee of the Central Savings 
Bank, from the date of its incorporation in 1871 until 
within a short time of his death. He Avas also a keen 
obsers'er of men and events, and was, withal, a most 
agreeable conversationalist. 

Some ten years ago the Doctor's failing health com- 
I)elled him to retire from the active duties of a business 
life, soon after which he removed from his residence on 
Stackpole Street to Methnen, where he passed the remain- 
der of his life. His body was interred in the Low<dl 
Cemetery. 

CARLOS HAZEN was born at West Hartford, Ver- 
mont, February 20th, 1827, came to Lowell September 
9t.h, 1859, and died at Concord, N. 11., September (Uli, 
1894, aged 67 years, 6 months, and 17 days. 

My first information relative to Mr. Hazen is that he 
entered the store of Person Noyes, furniture dealer. Mar- 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND KP^POIir. 81 



ket KSireet, in 18(kS where he reinaiiied several years. Siih- 
sequently he" became clerk for Ciishin^- cV: Mack, the well- 
known stove dealers, and still later for S. (J. Mack at the 
same ])lace. On the 1st of A])ril, 1870, he became a i)art- 
ner in this c^stablisliment, nnder the tirni name of S. (5. 
Mack & Co., where he remained nntil 188(1, when tlu^ tirm 
was dissolved. Frcnn Jnly 1st, 1889, to Febrnary 1st, 
1892, Mr. llazen was in the insurance business with 
George E. Metcalf, under the tirm name of Metcalf «!<: 
llazen. During the latter year Mr. Hazen was thrown 
from a carriage on Merrimack Street and received injurif^s 
which tinally resulted in his death. He was a member of 
the Masonic Order, Odd Fellows, and of the Lowell Lodge 
of Knights of l\ythias. 

CHARLES R. COBUKN was born in Chelmsford, 
Mass. (now Lowell), June Kith, 1813, and died October 
18th, 1894, aged 81 years and 4 months. 

He was (with the exception of Elisha Davis, who was 
born in 1799,) the oldest native memb<^r of this Associa- 
tion, and, with his brother Franklin, still living, probably 
the oidy members of a family who have ])ersonally wit- 
nessed the rise and progress of Lowell from its incorpora- 
tion as a town to its present magniticent ]»roportions as 
a citv. Mr. Coburn's earlv education was obtained in the 
district schools of Chelmsford, supplemented by a course 
in a New Hampshire academy, on the completion of which 
he was first employed in a country store kept by Capt. 
Phineas Whiting, located at the corner of Pawtucket and 
School Streets, where now stands the i)alatial residence 
of Mr. Frederick Aver, and of which the writer has a 
perfectly vivid recollection. Subsequently he found 
employment at Isaac Scripture's bakery, and later carried 
on a similar business of his own on School Street. 

Mr. Coburn's next business enterprise was that of a 
grocer, being located near the corner of Central and llurd 



82 OLD RESIDENTS' IILSTUUICAL AS60C1A IION. 



streets. \n 1843 he again changed and entered the 
employ of Mixer cS: Whitteniore, in the Middlesex 
Mechanies Association bnilding, dealers in niannfactiir- 
ers' snpplies. This firm was sncceeded by Mixer »S: Pit- 
man, and later by Mixer, Pitman .Vc Co., at which 
time the subject of this sketch became a member of 
the firm. In 1850 the firm became Cobnrn & Mixer. 
In 1852 Mr. Cobnrn assumed the Avhole business, 
under the style of C. B. Coburn & Co. In 1800 
Charles H. Coburn became a member of the firm, and in 
1871 Edward F. Coburn, both sons of the deceased. On 
the 1st of January, 1870, the business was transferred to 
the Wier building on Market Street, and in 1880 to the 
present commodious quarters now owned by tliis firm, 
Mr. Coburn retiring from active business in 188(». 

Mr. Coburn was a member of the Common Council in 
1844 and '51, and of the Board of Aldermen in 1850, '<;7 
and '08. He was paymaster in the militia in 1843, under 
Col. Timothy G. Tweed, and was prominent in the organ- 
ization of the Sanitary Commission for the comfort of our 
soldiers in the Civil AVar of 1802. 

Mr. Coburn was one of the first directors in the organ- 
ization of the Prescott National Bank, Avhicli took ])1a(e 
May 15th, 1850. He was elected its President November 
28th, 1804, and held this ottice until January 12th, 1875, 
when he resigned. He was elected director of the Trad- 
ers and Mechanics' Insurance Company, May 12th, 1840, 
this being the second year of its existence, and became 
its President December 10th, 1800, holding this office until 
February 9th, 1874, when he voluntarily retired. He also 
held other positions of trust. He was a member of the 
Unitarian Society and devotedly interested in the 
Ministrv-at-Large. 

In private life Mr. Coburn was singularly quiet and 
retiring, and yet of that genial nature whit li v.as both 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND KEPOK i'. 80 



magnetic and attractive. His business career was one 
of strict integrity and marked capacity, inspiring tlie 
utmost confidence of all with whom he had dealings. Tn 
his decease one of Lowell's oldest, most prominent, lu)n- 
ored, and highly-esteemed citizens has been removed from 
our midst. 

HENRY S. ORANGE was born February 14th, 1815, 
in Milton, N. 11., came to Lowell in October, 1834, and 
died October 2(>tli, 1894, in Oilmanton, N. IT., aged 71) 
vears and 8 months. 

In or about the year 1837 Mr. Orange became and 
for many years was a i)0])ular dry goods mercliant on 
Merrimack Street. In 1855 tlie firm name was (Daniel) 
Bradt iV: Orange and also Orange, Wright & Co. In 1858, 
and for several subsequent years, it was Orange ^Vc 
(Robert) Eastman; still later, when this partnershi]) was 
dissolved, Mr. Orange again became soh- ])ro]>rietor, and 
so continued until he retired from business, when he was 
succeeded by Ira Clough. Mr. Orange was a member of 
the Common Council in 1861, '(52, '63 and '05, also belonged 
to the Lowell Lodge of I. O. O. F., and was a member 
and constant attendant of tlie First Unitarian Society. 
In private life he was i)eculiarly genial and companion- 
able, and justly held in high esteem by his numerous 
friends and acquaintances. He left Lowell about 1872 
(twenty-three years ago) for Gilmanton, N. IL, where he 
passed the remainder of his life. 

WILLIAM R. CADY was born November 7th, 1S2(>, 
in Woodstock, Vermont, came to Lowell in March, 1833, 
and died October 27th, 1894, aged 07 years and 11 mouths. 
Mr. Cady for many years acted as agent for J. W. Tufts 
& Co., soda fountain manufacturers, being regarded as a 
specially-expert salesman, and later had an interest in 
the business. In 1883 he retired from active pursuits, 



84 OLD RESIDEN rS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION' 



after which he devoted liis time to the care of his estate 
in this city. He never held public office. 

ABRAHAM KERSHAW was born in Halifax, Eng- 
land, May 13th, 1804, came to Lowell July 12th, 1848, and 
died at Franklin Falls, N. H., November 28th, 1894, ai^^ed 
90 vears, months, and 1.5 davs. 

Durino- thirtv-eiuht of the fortv-six vears of his resi- 
dence in Lowell Mr. Kershaw was employed in t'le har- 
ness department of the Lowell Manufactnrinfi: Company, 
wherein he acquired an excellent reputation for his intelli- 
gence and skill in prosecuting this branch of its industry. 
In 1884 he retired from active business to enjoy the well- 
earned fruits of his labors, and on the 8th of July, 1892, 
he removed to Franklin Falls, N. IL, where he subse- 
quently resided with his daughter, Mrs. Maiw L. Simpson, 
until he died, as above stated, when his remains were 
returned to this city for interment. 

I do not find that Mr. Kershaw ever Indd public 
office in Lowell, but lie was one of the i^rime movers in the 
original ten-hours agitation, which finally resulted so 
favorably to the mill o])eratives, in whom he always took 
a strong interest. Indeed, it is said that as a self- 
constituted representative he personally visited all the 
corporation agents of this city, as far back as in the 
'^ fifties," and impressed upon them the necessity for 
shorter mill hours. He also interviewed the treasurers 
in Boston, and argued his case before tlieuL Here he 
was, without exception, kindly received, and was said to 
be the only prominent agitator among the working people 
who did not lose his i)lace in consequence of this aggres- 
sive course. This movement was not of a ]3olitical charac- 
ter, nor was there at that time any organized effort to 
acliieve the result, which was subsequently accomplished 
under the skillful marshalshij) of the late General Butler. 
How true his instincts in the matter proved to be, and how 



ANNUAL ADDKESS AND REPORT. 85 



well bis efforts were directed, was long ago fully and 
completely shown. 

Mr. Kershaw was a man of great uprightness and 
integrity of character, and in private life his pleasant 
and genial disposition endeared him to all who came 
within his influence. 

(tEORGE IlEDRICK was born May 2nd, 1809, in 
Boston, Mass., came to Lowell in July, 1831, and died 
December 2nd, 1894, aged 85 years and 7 months. 

Mr. Iledrick was, originally, a sign and decorative 
painter, being also proficient in preparing and painting 
silk banners, etc., for the clubs and societies of those days, 
having a special genius and ability for that kind of work. 
Naturally musical, he early engaged in the ])iano and 
organ trade, which he added to his other business, pro- 
viding additional rooms therefor. These he occupied for 
many years at what was then known as No. 3(» Central 
Street. Mr. Hedrick was especially fond of the church 
organ, and was organist at the Free Chapel, on Middlesex 
Street, serving gratuitoush^ for many years in thus pro- 
moting the charitable work of that institution. For 
years also he similarly assisted in cariwing on the Sunday 
services at the Lowell jail when under the administration 
of Sheriff" Kimball. He furthermore had much to do 
in introducing organs into the early churches of this city, 
and the surrounding towns, acting as agent for Ceorge 
Stevens, organ builder at Cambridge, Mass., for whom he 
had a strong and life-long personal friendship. 

Among Mr. Hedrick's most notable achievements was 
the obtaining, by a series of subscriptions and contribu- 
tions, the chime of eleven bells for the tower of St. Anne's 
Church, one of which he contributed. These bells, wiiich 
were accepted and dedicated October ITth, 1857, will ever 
remain a proud monument of his public spirit and gener- 
osity. He was also largely instrumental in procuring and 
placing the clock now in the tower of the High Street 



86 OLIJ KESIDENTS' HlSrORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Church. At the close of the Civil War he was aijpoiuted 
assistant collector of revenue for the United iJ^tates, under 
the late John Nesmith, which office he held for several 
vears. 

Mr. Hedrick was noted for his social qualities of 
character and for his love of nature and natural scenery. 
He also had a fondness for argument on theological as 
well as general subjects, and possessed a vast fund of 
information relative to the early history and growth of 
Lowell, together with the prominent citizens of his day; 
and, while naturally modest and retiring in manner, he 
was quick to interest those with whom he came in con- 
tact, and ])ossessed the utmost confidence of all who knew 
him. Mr. Hedrick was one of tlie last few survivors of 
the earliest settlers of Lowell. 

JAMES HOPKINS was born June 18th, 1806, in 
Montpelier, \'erniont, came to Lowell in October, 1832, 
and died January 2nd, 1895, aged 88 years, 6 months, and 
15 days. 

Mr. Hopkins commenced his business career at 
Greenfield, N. H., where, at the age of 14 years, he was 
apprenticed to a cabinet-maker of that place. After 
serving his time (four years) he removed to Boston, where 
he worked at his trade for two years He was then 
engaged by the Dover Manufacturing Company, at Dover, 
N. H., as wood machinist, being transferred, at the end 
of one year, to the manufactui'ing department, where he 
remained until coming to Lowell in 1832 under an engage- 
ment as overseer of weaving in the Tremont Mills. Sub- 
sequently he was employed in the Lawrence and Boott 
corporations, serving as expert in each of the above- 
named companies, as they severally commenced business. 

In 1850 Mr. Hopkins w^as appointed deputy sheriff, 
under Fisher A. Hildreth, continuing to hold the office, 
under the several sheriffs subsequently appointed, until 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND REPOK P. B7 



1871. He also held the offices of justice of the peace, 
coroner of Middlesex County, constable of the city of 
Lowell, United States revenue ganger, assessor for the 
city and state, and enumerator for taking the decimal 
census and vital statistics of Massachusetts in 1875. He 
was also a member of the Common Council in 1812. The 
holding of such a record of varied tind important offices 
is probably vouchsafed to scarcely any other old resident 
of Lowell, and goes far to show the public estimation in 
which Mr. Hopkins was held. 

AVhile unobtrusive, modest, and gentle in manner, 
Mr. Hopkins was a man of strong characteristics and 
much executive ability, inspiring the good will and con- 
fidence of all Avith whom he had either business or social 
relations. In his domestic life he was possessed of rare 
social qualities, always ready with a kind word and act 
for those requiring either, thus soothing and encouraging 
many an otherwise despondent and aching heart. This 
phase of his character was very beautifully illustrated on 
one occasion, when on the death of a prominent citizen 
and friend, in June, 1881, but whose name is not now 
recalled, Mr. Hopkins paid a touching tribute to his mem.- 
ory in the following words, still well remembered, viz.: 
" If every one for whom he has done some kindly act 
should bring a blossom to his grave, he would, tonight, 
sleep beneath a forest of flowers." Mr Hopkins was a 
man of the most sterling integrity and irreproachable 
character. 

LUKE C. DODGE was born in North Brookfield, 
Mass., April 23rd, 1822, came to LoAvell in January, 
1847, and died February 28th, aged 72 years and 10 
months. 

Mr. Dodge was originally and for many years 
employed by the Massachusetts Cotton Mills as car]»enter, 
but later engaged in the junk and paper stock business, 



88 OLD RESIDENTS" PIISTOlilCAL ASSOCIATION. 



in which he coutiuiied to the time of his death. In the 
early history of Lowell, and in the old hand-engine da^^, 
he was active in the Fire Department, being a member of 
Mazeppa No. 10 Company. He was connected with the 
Veteran Fireman's Association of the Pentncket Lodge 
of Masons, and of the Oberlin Lodge of the I. O. O. F. 
During the 3'ears 18G5 and '()(> he served in the Common 
Council of the city of Lowell. In his business career and 
private life Mr. Dodge was thoroughly upright and hon- 
est, and was universally respected. 

LUTHER RICHARDS was born in Rumney, N. H., 
April 20th, 1817, came to Lowell in November, 1835, and 
died March 13th, 1895, aged 77 years and 11 months. 

From the year 1845 until 1819 Mr. Richards had 
charge of repairs at the famous powder-mill works of 
Oliver M. Whipple, one of Lowell's most thriving indus- 
tries of that day. In the spring of 1851 he visited Califor- 
nia, working nine months in what was known as the 
Southern mines in the township of Merced River, when 
he returned to Lowell. In 1852 he again embarked from 
New York for the same place in the steamship Daniel 
Webster, but in consequence of the wreck of a connecting 
steamer on the Pacific coast, and after a delay of forty 
davs at Panama, he once more returned to Low(dl. 

In the spring of 1853 Mr. Richards made one more 
venture to California, this time engaging in the lumber- 
ing business in the famous red-wood district, where he 
remained until 1850, when he again returned to this city. 

In 1857 Mr. Richards erected the grist mill of the 
TA'amesit Power Co. for Mr. S. N. Wood, and subse- 
quently engaged in the business of contractor, mover of 
buildings, etc., being noted for his superior skill and 
excellent judgment in this line of business. From May 
1st, 1860, to January 1st, 1873, he served the city to great 
acceptance as superintendent of streets. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND KEPOUT. 



89 



Mr. Richards was a charter member of William 
North Lodge of Masons, a Knight Templar, and also 
belonged to Oberlin Lodge, I. O O. F. In private life he 
was modest and unassuming, and in all his business 
affairs, competent, energetic, and reliable. 

PAUL HILL was born in Billerica, Mass., November 
23rd, 1815, came to Lowell in 1825, when only a lad, and 
died March 23rd, 1895, aged 79 years and four months. 

Mr. Hill began his career in the Lowell mills, after- 
wards entering the employ of the Locks and Canals Com- 
pany under Mr. Moses Shattuck, then its superintendent, 
the company being at that time under the general man- 
ajjrement and direction of Patrick T. Jackson one of the 
founders of the city of Lowell. At the death of Mr. Shat- 
tuck Mr. Hill was made superintendent of these works. 
It was in this position that he acquired special promi- 
nence, in conection with the late James B. Francis, and 
became known for his superior engineering skill, indus- 
try, and indefatigability of character. Among his most 
important achievements were the building of the North- 
ern Canal, the Moody Street feeder, and the numerous 
penstocks and canals for the various Lowell mills. In 
giving directions to such work, and in the management of 
large forces of men, Mr Hill possessed a most remarkable 
tact and talent. 

In October, 1863, on the completion of some of Low- 
ell's earlier and most important enterprises in securing 
the necessary water-power for its manufacturing pur- 
poses, Mr. Hill left the Locks and Canals Company to 
engage in the state work at Hoosac Tunnel, where he was 
made superintendent, and was for several years employed 
on the gigantic engineering feat of tunneling the Hoosac 
Mountains for a distance of over four miles, thus opening 
a more direct line of railroad communication between the 
East and West. He also superintended the building 



90 Or>D KESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX, 



of the daiii ou Deertield Kiver, wliich supplied a great 
water-power, and the Cape Cod Dike to preserve 
Cape Cod Harbor, being appointed a commissioner, 
with Mr. James Gifford, by Governor Bnlloclv, to prose- 
cute this Avork. Mr. Hill afterwards went West and was 
engaged on the construction of the Missouri River Rail- 
road, mostl}' in the line of building bridges over the Platte 
River. Later he made some extensive improvements on 
the river near Greenfield, Mass. In partnership with Mr. 
John Ellin<>wood he built the reservoir for Beverlv and 
Lvnn, and also the Billerica and Bedford branch of the 
Boston and Lowell Railroad, besides being connected 
with several other similar enterprises of lesser magnitude. 
Mr. Hill was a member of the Lowell Common Coun- 
cil in 1852 and 1854, and <»f the Board of Aldermen in 
1859. He was also representative to the State Legisla- 
ture in 1862 and '63, but held no other political office. 

In 1873 Mr. Hill retired from the more active service 
of his life, and settled on a large farm in Billerica, his 
native place, where he remained until 1893, when he 
returned to the city of his adoption, after which his ser- 
vices were sought and obtained in superintending the 
construction of various parts of the Metropolitan Sewer 
near Boston, and in the prosecution of which, he man- 
ifested all his old-time persistence and energy, although 
at so advanced an age. 

As will be seen, the career of Mr. Hill was most 
remarkable from a business point of view, while socially 
he was everywhere held in the highest estimation. He 
left a record and a name imperishable in tlie annals of 
the history of Lowell. 

FREDERICK ARTEMAS HOLDEX was born in 
East Chelmsford, Mass., now Lowell, August 14th, 1812, 
and died Marcli 2Ttli, 1895, aged 82 years. 7 months and 
13 (hi vs. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND REPOIH'. 91 



From this it will be observed that Mr. Holdeii's resi- 
dence in what is now Lowell antedates its incorporation 
as a town by the period of fourteen years, niakini; him 
undoubtedly its oldest native-born citizen at the time of 
his death. My own acquaintance with Mr. llolden, I may 
also add, extends over a period of nearly sixty-nine years, 
locating as I did, on my arrival in Lowell, in his immedi- 
ate neighborhood. Mr. Holden received his early educa- 
tion at a district school situated at what is now the corner 
of Salem and Pawtucket streets ( which I also attended ), 
and later was a pupil at the Old Chelmsford Academy for 
two or three terms. After leaving the academy Mr. llol- 
den was employed several years by James and Jonathan 
Bowers, proprietors of a saw-mill and lumber yard near 
the head of Pawtucket Falls. In 1836 he came into pos- 
session of a farm in Concord, Mass., where he removed 
and remained until 1849, when he returned to Lowell and 
entered the service of the Proprietors of the Locks and 
Canals. Here he renmined until Jan. 1st, 1891, when he 
retired from active seiwice, having proved a most faithful, 
reliable, and efficient servant in the care and management 
of the locks of the company, and in regulating the heights 
of water in the various canals for the mills of the city. 
In private life Mr. Holden was modest and unassuming, 
and a model of all that pertains to a gentlemanly bearing 
and kindly instincts. 

In this connection it may be interesting to note that 
the father of the subject of this sketch, Artemas Holden, 
an eminently respectable gentleman, who followed the 
trade of cooper on Pawtucket Street, in the beginning of 
Lowell, was at that time the owner of a farm which 
extended from the Merrimack River, adjoining what is 
now the Frederick Ayer estate, to the present line of 
Broadwav, and embraced all the land between Bowers, 
Mt. Vernon, and School streets, and most of the territory 
bounded by Fletcher, Cross, Adams, Salem, and Bowers 



92 OLD EESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



streets, includiug the entire North Commou and much of 
the territory north and east of it. 

TV'ILLAKL) (\ WELCH was born in Canaan, N. H., 
February 26th, 1814, came to Lowell, Marcli 17th, 1830, 
and died May 12th, 1895, aged 81 years, 2 months, and 14 
days. 

At the early ajjje of IG Mr. Welch entered the employ 
of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, where he 
remained until 1880, almost fifty years of that time hold- 
ing the position of overseer, which he honored by his great 
faithfulness and business ability. With the exception of 
his service of two years, 1845, 1846, in the common coun- 
cil, we do not find that he ever held public office. Mr. 
Welch was a man of most exemplary character, was for 
fifty-live years a worthy member of the Wortheu Street 
Baptist Church, and was held in the highest esteem by all. 
His death removes another and almost the last of those 
whose term of service dates from the beginning of the 
manufacturing era of Lowell, and shows how completely 
the population of our city has changed during his busi- 
ness career. 

THOMAS F. BUKGESS was born in W\ayne, Maine, 
January 15tli, 1821, came to Lowell in November, 1844, 
and died May 12th, 1895, aged 74 years and 4 months. 

Soon after arriving in Lowell Mr. Burgess entered 
the employ of the Lowell Machine Shop Corporation ami 
commenced the business of pattern-maker. In 1847 he 
went to Methuen, where the Essex Company had begun 
the preliminary work of founding the manufacturing cen- 
tre now known as Lawrence, and went into the service of 
that company. Eventually he returned to the Lowell 
Machine Shop, where he remained until 1857, when he 
went to Three Rivers, Quebec, under an engagement of 
Norcross, Phillips & Co., for whom he built a large saw- 
mill and had change of the same until 1859. At this time 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND liEPOfrr. 93 



lie ai!,aiii returned to the Lowell Machine Sliop, bt'inii- 
made foreman of that establisliment, and remained, with 
some interrnption dnrin^' the time of the sonthern rebel- 
lion, nntil 1S(>5, when he embarked in bnsiuess for him- 
self. In 1S71 Mr. Rnr^ess was en_iiai>ed by the J. (\ Ayer 
Co., and went into the service of the Pensacola Lnmber 
Co., at Molino, Florida, in which J. C. Ayer & Co. were the 
principal owners, where he remained three or four years, 
servinii' this company with signal ability and success. 
From this time nntil 1883 he was enjiai^ed in lumber 
mannfactnrino^ on his own account, in Pensacola. Mr. 
Burj^ess then ajiain returned to Lowell, and was en<iaued 
in his own private business until 1891 and 181)2, when he 
was once more emploj'ed at the Lowell Machine Shoj), 
where he perfected an improved system for carrying- 
melted iron in the foundrv. Durinii' 1892, while vet con- 
nected with the Machine Sho}>, he superintended the 
work of takiujLi out tlu^ old wheels of tlie Ajipleton 
Company and substitntino the present turbine wheels. 

In musical matters Mr Burgess was prominent and 
efficient. In 1849 he was a member of the Lowell Brass 
Band, led by D. C. Hall, of j^ohl bui»le fame, and was for 
a time cmmected with a ref^imental band during the 
Kebellion. To him, also, is given the credit of suggest- 
ing the formation of tin- Lowell Jubilee Chorus Society, 
organized and managed by Patrick S. (Jilmore in the 
summer of 18()9, and from which was organized the Low- 
ell Choral Society, and of which lu* was president in 
1870. He M-as, also, for many years a member and 
director of the Shattuck Street Universalist Church 
choir, as also of various other local musical organizations. 
Mr. Burgess was for years an active worker for the 
Middlesex Mechanics' Association, being, for several 
years, one of its vice-presidents, and its secretary from 
ISGG to 1871. In 1806 and 1867 he was a member of the 
Lowell Common Council. 



9-1: OLD KESIDENTS" IIISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



In a word Mr. Burgess was a. good, active, and 
reliable member of society, a man of positive convictions, 
modest, yet firm and consistent in liis views of the pass- 
ing questions of the day, and eminently practical in his 
general character. He fully enjoyed the confidence and 
esteem of all who knew him, and his death removes from 
our midst a. most sterling and useful citizen. 

The following contributions to the library have been 
made during the year: -- 

Proceedings of New llam])shire Ilistoiical Society, 
ISDl to 1804. 

Tlic Manor of rhilipsburg, i»ublished by Yonkers 
ilistoiiial and Library Association. 

Regents' Bulletins, University of State of New York: 
University Extension, March, 1894; Extension Teaching, 
July, 181)4; Summer Schools, August, 1894. 

State Legislation, 1894. State Library Bulletin, 
University of New York. 

The University Extension Bulletin, Summer 
Meeting, Historical Pilgrimage, Philadel])hia, 1894, 

Annual Report of the University of California, 1894. 

Proceedings of the Missouri Historical Society, 1894. 

Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 
April, 1895. 

Third Annual Report of the Trustees of Public 
Reservations of Massachusetts, 1894. 

Copies of the Army Magazine containing articles by 

Captain Philip Reade (of Lowell), U. S. Army. 

American Historical Register, Proceedings and 
Collections, 1894. 

Publications of Nebraska Historical Society, 1894, 

Annual Re])ort of New York State Library, 1894. 

L^niversity of New York, 

The Story of the (Mty Hall Commission, Prentiss 

Webster, Editor. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS AND HEPOKT. 95 



Notes on the Developinent of a Cliihl; University of 
California. 

Exercises at the Dedication of a Memorial Tablet, 
Town Hall, ( Vntre Sandwich, N. II., presented by George 
TI. Marstou. 

Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of 
the Incorporation of Milford, N. II., June 20, 1S94. 
Presented by W. F. French of the town connnitt(H^. 

(Catalogue of Yale University, 1894 and 1895. 

An itemized exhibit of The Expenses of the Town of 
Lowell for the year ending February 28, 1835, presented 
by Col. J. W. Bennett. 

Leters of Rog(n' Williams to Winthro]), and also The 
Way of the Churches of New England, being the Preface 
of Thomas H<ioker's Surrey of the Sum of Church 
Discipline. Old South Leaflets. Old South Work, 
Edwin D. Mead. 

The Original Indian Territory. It was in West 
Vii'ginia. West Virginia Historical Society. 

The Rise and Development of the Bicameral System 
in America by Thomas Francis Moran, A. B., Johns 
Hopkins I^niversity Stmlies in Historical and Political 
Science. 

The French in America. A translation by Edwin 
Swift Balch and Elise Willing Balcli of Les Francais 
En Amerique pendant la Guerre de L'Independance des 
Etats-Unis, par Thomas Balch. Presented by the 
translators. Two volumes, cloth. Published by Porter 
& Coates, Philadelphia, 1895. 



VI. PubUc Monuments of Lowell. By Charles Cowley, 
LL. D. Read Ma,/ '2h ISO.l.'^ 



The public iiiounments of Lowell are Memorial Hall, 
the Ladd and Whitney coliimu, and the statue of Victory; 
all standing- near the City Hall. 

The modest shaft, which commemorates Luther C. 
Ladd and Addison (). Whitney, stands twenty-seven and 
a half feet hi^h. It was intended to bear — and it Avill 
bear — favorable comparison with the monuments previ- 
ously erected at Acton, Concord, and Lexington, to 
commemorate certain men and events of the Revolution. 

As Rev. Dr. Clark said, in his funeral sermon on Ladd 
and Whitney, "Henceforth the heroes of Concord, Lex- 
ington, Bunker Hill, and Baltimore, shall blazon together 
on the pages of their <-ountry's history, like stars in the 
Hag whose honor they died to uphold.'- 

While many commissioned officers of the armv and 
nav3^ deserted to the enemy in 18(11, the non-commis- 
sioned officers and privates, alike on laud and sea, 
adhered to the Union with a steadfastness wliich ought 
not to be forgotten. Ladd and W^ hitney were x>i'i^'tite 
soldiers, typical volunteers; and the monument which 
bears their names may be regarded, in some sense, as 
commemorative of all the volunteers, among whom thev 
were the first to fall. 

This monument was built of Concord (N. 11.) granite 
by Runels, Clougli & Comi)any of Lowell, under the direc- 
tion of a Joint State and Citv Commission, at a cost of 
about 14500. The Commonv/ealth apijro])riated |20{k0 
for this purpose, and the city paid the residue. It was 
designed by Woodcock »S: Meecham of Boston. 

* Previously read before B. F. Butler Post, G. A. R., lu Memorial Hall, and subsequently read 
before the Dahlgren Association of Naval Veterans, and before tlic Farragut Camp of the Sons of 
Veterans. 



PUBLIC' MONUMENTS OF LOWELL. 97 



It was not originally intended to bnry the remains of 
Ladd and AVliitney beneath this monument; they had 
already been interred in the Lowell Cemetery. Accord- 
ing to the original plan the longer bars of the cross, or 
plinth, on which this column stands, were to have been 
placed across the lot, with the inscriptions facing east and 
west; but this was afterwards changed; and there can 
now be no doubt that the change was a wise one. 

A crypt A\as built under the westerly end of the cross, 
and the body of Whitney was placed there. Another 
crypt was built under the easterl}^ end of the cross, and 
the body of Ladd was placed there. The heads of the cof- 
fins lie towards Moody Street. The coats worn by Ladd 
and Whitney when they fell in Baltimore, are preserved in 
Memorial Hall. 

The public ai)preciation of the in-ivate soldier was 
accentuated at the dedication of this monument, June 
17, 18G5, when the Governor and Commander-in-Chief 
appeared ui)on the scene and related in glowing words 
the story of the humble lives of these youn* men, and 
ennobled them as members of the "sublime Peerage of 
Ali-tue."* 

The oration of Governor Andrew, though prepare<l 
when many other duties were pressing heavily npon him, 
was a noble contribution to the war literature of Lowell. 
Of many quotable passages I can here transcribe but one. 
Referring to that great week when Massachusetts rose up 
at the sound of the cannonade of Sumter, the War 
Governor said: 

"It redeemed the meanness and the weariness of 
many a prosaic life. It was a revelation of profound 
sentiment, of manly faith, of glorious fidelity, and of a 
love stronger than death. Those were days of which 
none other in the history of the war became the parallel. 



•Cowley's History of Lowell, pp. 177 and 178; Hanson's History of the Sixth Regiment. 
PP- 343-349. 



98 OLD RESIDEXTS' HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



And wlieu on the evening of the anniversary of llie battle 
of Lexington, there came the news along the wires that 
the Sixth Regiment had been cntting its way through the 
streets of Baltimore, whose pavements were reddened by 
the blood of Middlesex, it seemed as if there descended 
into onr hearts a mysterious strength, and into our minds 
a su])ernal illumination." 

The (luotation on the monument, from the " Samson 
Agonistes " of John Milton, was selected by Governor 
Andrew : — 

"Nothing is here for grief, nothing for tears, nothing to wail. 
And knock the breast, no weakness, no contempt, 
Dispraise or blame, but well and fair, 
And what may quiet us in a death so noble." 

The moral lesson symbcdized by this monument is 
the duty and the beauty of self-sacrifice; it is the old 
lesson of the Cross of Calvary, — old, indeed, yet forever 
new --- which has transfigured human history more and 
more for eighteen hundred years. 

In this monument the cross appears, not erect, but 
recumbent, and in one of its less familiar forms. It is a 
Greek, and not a Latin cross. " The symbol of the inter- 
secting bars was enough for the Greek,"* and surely the 
cross is not an inappropriate symbol for the graves of 
those whom Governor Andrew eulogized as having put 
on tlie crown of martyrdom, 'Mnore wortliy than a 
hundred mortal diadems." 

Oliver AVendell Holmes, writing on another occa- 
sion, exj)resse(l with fine felicity the sentiments which 
raised this monument: — 

"Take them, () Father I in immortal trust, 
Ashes to ashes, dust to kindred dust, 
Till the last angel roll the stone away, 
And a new morning bring immortal day." t 

It has been the custom of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, commencing in 1SG8, to decorate this monu- 

* Smith's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, article " Cross." 
t Dedication oi Pi*sfield Cemetery. 




e/V\E/v\oi\i/\L Building, 



LcrfG. 



100 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



lueiit aud to gatlier around it for special services on 
Memorial Day. Tlie monition of the author of the Battle 
Hymn of the Kepublic is not likely to be forj^otten so long 
as any veterans of the war survive in Lowell: — 

" Remember ye the fateful gun which sounded 

To Sumter's walls from Charleston's treacherous shore, 
Remember ye how hearts indignant bounded 

When our first dead came liack from Baltimore." * 

In 18(h the Ladd and Whitney monument was sup- 
plemented by the statue of Victory, the gift of Dr. James 
O. Ayer.t The fitness of the combination of the two 
impressive symbols at once became apparent to every 
one who had learned the primary fact that in Art, as in 
Religion, the cross stands for self-sacrifice, and tln^ crown 
for the great reward which self-sacrifice brings. But in 
1894, strange to say, it was proposed by certain persons, 
unmindful of this primary fact, that the statue and 
crown of Victory should be se])arate(l from the cross of 
sacrifice, and reniov(Ml to another place. It was sug- 
gested by "gardeners" that the Ladd and Whitney 
monument and the statue of Mctory were " not architec- 
turally sympathetic," and that, " to feed the esthetic 
sense," they should be separated. But tliis proposal 
provoked general opposition and failed. + 

The cross in the monument and the crown in the 
hand of the statue are comi)leniental to each other. Or, 
as Mr. F. F. Aver wrote, " Stone and statue together 
make the monument. Tear them apart, and the sullen 
ledge is robbed of its inspiration." >? 

In ancient times, statues of gods and goddesses, rep- 
resenting the human form in its greatest beauty and per- 
fection, were highly prized, and none more than the 



* Julia Ward Howe's " Later Lyrics," p. 29. 

f Cowley's History oi Lowell, pp. 209 and 210: Cowley's Reminiscences of James C. Ayer, 
pp. 98 and 99. 

I Webster's Story of the City Hall Commi-ision. including the Exercises at the Laying of the 
Corner Stones and the Dedication of the City Hall and Memorial Hall. p. 2^i. r)aily Courier of 
June 30, 1894. 

§ Letter of Frederick F. Ayer, Esi|., and other letters in the Courier of July 5, 1894. 



PUBLIC MONUMENTS OF LOWELL. 1 01 



statne of the (Jreek jioddess Nike or A'ictory. Slio was 
l^^cnerally rejuvseuted witli winu,s, to denote the lii-kleiiess 
of fortune. Athens, however, liad a teni]>le of Nike 
showintj this goddess without Aviniis, to indicate that 
Victory liad come to Athens to stay. Siie was also repre- 
sented witli a wreatli or floral crown, and a palm branch. 
As lierahl of victory she also bin'e the wand of Ilcrcnles.* 

It is worth rcmemberini;' that these monuments 
stand for tlie Lowell that was, in the e]toch of the civil 
war — an e])()ch fnll of heroism, fnll of patriotism, full of 
pathos, and full of history, 'i'hey deserve to be respected 
because they rei)resent tlie I>,owell of the past. Tliey 
have jnratiti(Ml the taste of (listinguished visitors whom 
we shall see no nu)re. Grant, Farragut, Sheridan, and 
other generals and admirals of the Republic gazed with 
satisfaction on these monuments. So did Lord Chief 
Justice Coleridge, the Grand Duke Alexis, and other men 
of note from abroad. The Marquis of Lome, visiting- 
Lowell while Crovernor-General of Canada, saw in tlie 
Ladd and Whitney column a monument wliich will bear 
coni])arison with that which the Queen, his royal mother- 
indaw, erected at Constantinople to the memory of her 
soldiers and sailors who fell in the Crimea. Let us cher- 
ish those memorials of the ]»ast, and not dis])arage them 
because they are not of the ijassing hour. If my counsel 
could avail, I would remove the Liberty Pole ^^■llich noA\' 
disfigures Ladd and Whitney Place, and substitute for 
the fence which now surrounds it, an ornate military 
fence, with cannon for posts and ritle-barrels for pickets. 
Moreover the sidewalk around it should be reconstructed 
and made uniform Avith that around the City Hall and 
Memorial Hall. Nor should Ladd and Whitney Place be 
left in utter darkness while those halls are ablaze with 
electric light. 



*Seyffert's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, aiticle " Nice," and Menard's " Mytliologi" 
dans L'Art, p. 20. 



102 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The purpose to erect a suitable memorial of tlie sol- 
diers and sailors of Lowell who fell in the war for the 
T'uion, was formed even before the war had closed; but 
more than twenty years elapsed before that purpose took 
definite shape. On the fifteenth of April, 1887, at a joint 
meeting of the committees appointed by the three Grand 
Army posts to uuike arrangements for Memorial Day, on 
motion of Lieutenant' Edward W. Thompson, it was 
recommended that the three posts appoint a joint com- 
mittee to take sucli steps as they might deem expedient 
to secure the erection of a soldiers' and sailors' monument. 
That recommendation was adopted, and such a committee 
was appointed. On May 9, 1887, Edward W. Thompson 
Avas chosen chairman, O. M. Cousens secretary and 
Charles H. Coburn treasurer of this Grand Army 
Committee. 

On May 21, and again on July 5, 1887, meetings of 
this committee were held, and the kind of monument to 
be erected, as well as the ways and means whereby it 
should be erected, were discussed.* 

The question whether the proposed monument should 
be an obelisk or a building was submitted by a circular 
to about six hundred representative men, and the answers 
Avere three to one in favor of a building.t 

It was determined to invite the co-operation of those 
who had not personally ])articipated in the war; and on 
November 29, 1887, a public meeting was held at the call 
of the Grand Army Ccnnmittee, which was attended by sol- 
diers, sailors and civilians, and which resulted in the 
a])poiutment of Benjamin F. Butler, Frederic T. Green- 
halge, Charles A, Stott, John J. Donovan, Josiah G. Pea- 
body, James B. Francis, James C. Abbott, C. A. R. Dimon, 
Rev. A. 8t. John Chambre, D. D., Rev. Michael O'Brien, 

* See Lowell newspapers of May lo, May 25, and Jnly 6, 1887. 

t Hon. George A. Marden stated at the first campfire of the G. A. R. held in Memorial Hall, 
that the first suggestion of a biiildins; rather than a shaft was made by the author of this paper. 



PUBMC MONUMENTS OF LOWELL. 1 (»3 



Kev. Smith Baker, D. D., Kev. George N. Howard, Charles 
Cowle}^, John Welch, H. M. Jacobs, C. II. Richardson, 
Freeman B. Shedd, A. A. Davis and W. A. Stimson, as a 
Citizens' Committee. On December 4, 1887, this Citizens' 
Committee appointed a sub-committee consisting of 
James B. Francis, A. vSt. John Chambre, Josiah G. Pea- 
bodv, Michael O'Brien, and Charles Cowley. Mr. Francis 
resigned; the other four gentlemen worked out a plan and 
reporte<l it to the Citizens' Committee, wliich ad(>])ted it. 
On May 12, 1888, a ])ublic meeting in Jackson Hall, called 
by the chairman of the Grand Army Committee, 
unanimously adopted this report. 

Finally, at a meeting held in Huntington Hall on the 
evening of Memorial Day, 1888, tilling the hall to its 
utmost capacity, Rev. Dr. Chambre submitted resolutions 
for the adoption of this report, which ^tasscd unani- 
mously.* The report was then ]>roseuted to the City 
Council in the form of a petition, and the City Council 
referred it to the City Hall Commission with full power 
to proceed to erect a memorial liall, with the provision 
that a part of it sliould be used by the City Library.! 

The fact that the Citv Librarv was in uriient need of 
ampler accommodations led to a i)opidar agitation to sup- 
ply that want. Naturally enough, the two movements 
were soon blended in one; and the result is that, like the 
native town of Phillips Brooks and several other NeAV 
England towns, Lowell now has a Hall which, as that 
lamented prelate would say, is a Memorial Hall of the 
soldiers and sailors of Lowell who died for their country. 



* Sec Lowell newspapers of Nov. 30, and Dec. 5, 1887, and May 13 and 31, 1888. 

t This petition appears in full on pages 92 and 93 of Webster's Story of the City Hall Com- 
mission: but the date of it. was 1888, and not 1883. In the first line of the petition, the sixth word, 
"at," is omitted, destroying the sense. In the second line of the third paragraph, the word, 
" regular," should be " irregular." 

The estimate of the cost of the Memorial Building submitted in this petition, was based on 
an estimate of the amount of space required for the library, which the City Librarian, in behalf of 
the Trustees, submitted to the Citizens' Committee. As the latter estimate was afterwards greatly 
increased, the cost of the building was also greatly increased. 



104 OLD IIESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION'. 



ami also a means <»f culture and education for the city to 
which they belonoed. The Hall is consecrated to their 
memory and to the city's best nses. It is a Memorial Hall 
and a Library Hall at once.* 

The cost of this bnildin- was |1T0,2()2.2(). It was 
designed by F. \V. Stickney, architect, of Lowell, and was 
opened on the third day of June, 1893. On that day many 
of the surviving' veterans of Lowell met upon the South 
Common, marched to Memorial Hall, and dedicated it in 
Grand Army form. Then they separated, probably to 
meet no more as a body till they meet at the last reveille. 

Perhai)s the most striking feature of the procession 
was that presented by the survivors of the Abbott Grays, 
led bv Colonel Francis; almost everv one of \\ lioui had 
been Avounded in battle once or twice, and soiue of them 
three or four times. Efforts were made to catch u[)on the 
camera the i)assing forms; but, except in the case of the 
Naval Battalion, all these efforts failed. 

The dimensions of the particular apartment which, 
in a special sense, is called Memorial Hall, are as folloAvs: 
length, G3 feet; breadth, 53 feet; height, 40 feet. 

The City Hall was designed by Merrill & Cutler, archi- 
tects, of Lowell, and cost |374,290.G7. It measures but a 
fraction less than 133 feet on Worthen Street, and 128 feet 
on Merrimack Street. Both these buildings are four 
stories high, and the people are Avell pleased with them. 

There is no part of Lowell so rich in historical asso- 
ciations as that where these monuments and the new 
City Hall present themselves to view. Every street in 
this vicinity recalls some local historic name — Dutton, 
named from Warren Dutton; Worthen, named from Ezra 
Worthen; Colburn, named from Warren Colburn; Moody, 
named from Paul Moody; Prince, named from John D. 
Prince; and Merrimack, named from the noble river which 

*See Bishop Brooks' Address at the Dedication of Memorial Hall, Andover, Mass., May 3c, 
T873, in his " Essays and Addresses," pp. 283-29Q. 



PUBLIC MONLMEXTS OF LOWELL. 



lo; 



r»»lls hy tlie mills of Lnwdl. All 1 licse iiicii <'xc(']»t Dnttoii 
oiicc had li()iiH\s Ileal- lit'i-c. 

The (ii-eeii ( li-aiiiiiiar Sciiool, on tlu* oi»]»(>site si(l(^ of 
Merrimack StrciM, marks the site of the lirst ])lace of wor- 
ship of se^■(M•al »linVi-oiil coiiiire'j.atioiis. 'IMie ediliee 
adjoiiiiup," this sriioid is of post-bellum oriuin; but the 
First Coii^Tegatioual ('liuicli, which w<n-shi]»s there, has 
noble names for the tablets in Memorial Hall. 




On the site of tlie Merrimack TTous(^ once stood the 
dwellino-honse of Ezra Worthen, afterwards occnpied for 
a time by Warren Colburn. At the sontlnvesterlv corner 
of Merrimack and Dntton streets Kirk lioott dropped 
•dead from his chaise. The iuijtress of his hand mar still 



1()() OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



be traced upon Lowell, although for nearly sixty years he 
has been sleeping- the long sleep amid the shades of Mount 
Auburn. At the northeasterly corner of the same streets, 
where the Gate House now stands, stood the platform 
from which Josiah G. Abbott, Linus Child, William S. 
8outhworth and Tappan Wentworth addressed the great 
mass meeting of May 11, 1861. The chairman of that 
meeting was Isaac Hinckley, agent of the Merrimack 
Manufactui-iug Company, and father of Captain Wallace 
Hinckley, a name for the tablets in Memorial Hall. 

Jtulge Abbott, among other things, said: "Now is 
the last time in the world for us to feel in the sliiihtest 
degree gloomy or desi)ondent. Why, gentlemen, Ave may 
spend money — what of it? AA'e may spend millions of 
money — what of it? Our good men and our true men 
may lay down their lives upon the altar; and let me say 
that all who lay down their lives, sell their lives most 
truly and most gloriotisly. If we do sx)en(l our treasure, 
are all better than we were four weeks ago; we have been 
educated within three weeks, more than in the piping 
times of ])r()sperity and peace. ^A'e needed this thing to 
show us that we had a country, to make us believe in that 
country, to make us believe that it was our duty to die for 
if we do spend our blood, today the people are better; we 
that country; to lay down our lives, if our country 
demanded the sacrifice."* 

These were burning words, and they were accentu- 
ated by the fact that three of Judge Abbott's scms — all 
that were old enough for militarv service — had already 
A^olunteered for tlie Avar, and tAVO of these, a fcAv davs 
hiter, in St. Anne's Church, knelt with their mother at 
their last communion! What a subject for a painting for 
Memorial Hall! Such a picture Avould touch the hearts 
of visitors for ages to come, and prolong the memory of 



* Lowell Daily Courif^r, May 13, i86i. 



PUBLIC MONUMENrs OF LOWELL. 107 



the hiah consecration with which the fathers and niotliers 
of onr heroic age sent forth their sons for tlie defence of 
the Union. 

Standing on the bridge below the Gate Honse, 
looking north, yon behold the combination of a running 
stream, grassy banks, beautiful shade-trees and a street 
on either side, and an ivy-clad cotton mill with a belfry 
in the background — a view of which I know not where to 
find a parallel, except, perhaps, in Rotterdam or Venice. 

Crossing Merrimack Street from the Gate House, you 
enter Huntington Hall, whicli so often resounded with 
the eloquence of the orators of tlie war; and the dingy 
depot below, where many a departing soldier and sailor 
received from those whom he loved best, a tender, a tear- 
ful, and, as it too often proved, an eternal farewell. 

A little further down, you pass the old City Hall, 
where the City Council sat during those fotir terrible 
years; standing vis-a-vis with St. Anne's Church and its 
storied chime of bells, which so often sounded notes of 
gladness or of sorrow, from the bombardment of Fort 
Sumter to the return of the Southern Bishops to the 
National Convention of the Ohurcli. 

Merrimack Street itself, with the lofty trees that once 
stood at intervals on either side of it, is rich in associa- 
tions with the war. But only tliose who spent the war- 
time here, can tell you how often those trees, like the elms 

of Ardennes, have " dropped their tears in dew-drops over 
the unreturning brave;" or how often, along that street, 
amid draperies of sable, muffled drums have beaten — 

" Funeral marches to the grave." 

The use of the lower part of Memorial Hall for the 
purposes of the City Library during the two last years, 
has shown a growing appreciation among the people of 
the great value of this collection of books. There is also 
a growing feeling that Memorial Hall should contain 
more than books. Choice specimens of Painting, Sculp- 



1()(S OLD KP:SIDENTS' inSTOKICAI- ASSOCIATION. 



ture, and purticiilarly of Pliotograpliy, have already 
enriched tlie library, and more are to come. 

If my counsel coiihl avail, 1 Avonld oather and pre- 
serve here specimens of the rocks imderlyino' the city for 
the benefit of any future Sillimau, A^assiz, Hitchcock or 
other «>-eoloojical student who mij^ht pursue his researches 
here; also a cabinet of local mineraloiiy, and illustrations 
of h»cal natural history. Whatever has value as illus- 
tratiuii- tlie past history of this place, sliould find quarters 
liere. Only in a public institution, under permanent 
manaj;ers, can such vestii»es of the past be lonf>- i)reserved. 

Forty years a<io, Oliver M, AA'hipple showed me at his 
house a remarkable C(dlection of curiosities, manv of 
which have been scattered since liis death, thouoii, per- 
liaps, some of them might even now be recovered. Resides 
arrowdieads, tomahaAvk-heads, knives, human bones, and 
other relics, such as are commonly found in an Indian 
museum, Mr, Wl»ip])le showed me some very rare proofs 
that if the Indians of this region were tliemselves ignorant 
of the use of copper, they were in communication with, 
others elsewhere Avho were not. For he showed me copper 
beads which he had found, consisting of small pieces of 
plate cojjper, bent over a string, which had, doubtless, 
adorned the neck of some dusky beauty of the forest; the 
copper itself having probably been brought from the 
mines in the region of Lake Superior, which, as we now 
know, were worked long before the discovery of America. 
The Indians of the Merrimack were in communication 
with those of the St. Lawrence and the Indians of the St. 
Lawrence with the Indians of Lake Superior. 

But in Memorial Hall pre-eminence should be given 
to relics of the war — pictures of battles and battlefields, 
of ships and sea-fights, of officers who led, and men who 
fell in the bloody struggle. Some of the clothes they 
wore, some of the arms they carried, should also find a 
place in this Valhalla. The time is coming when Memo- 



riBLir MONUMENTS OF T.OWErX \()9 



rial Hall will be found to serve all these uses, and ])evlia{)S 
other uses also.* Beyond the name, Memorial Hall, this 
edifice is, as yet, without an inscription. The proper 
place for an inscription is occu])ied by a ])late containing;- 
the names of the commissioners under whose direction it 
was erected. That inscri])tion should be removed to the 
inside, and in its place should be inscribed some such 
words as these, spoken by Henry Ward Beecher in Fort 
Sumter, April 14, 18(>5:- 

" To the officers and men of the Army and Navy, who 
have so faithfully, skilfully and gloriously, upheld their 
country's authority by sufTerinii-, labor and sublime cour- 
age, we offer a heart-tribute beyond the com])ass of 
words." 

The flag upon Memorial Hall has not yet been applied 
to its fittest use. As often as one of our war veterans 
passes away — and they are dying almost daily — that flag- 
should be set at half-mast, announcing the event, and 
reminding us that in a few ycnirs the last veteran will 
pass over to the majority, and that flag be thus IkiH"- 
masted for the last time. 

" To pass through Memorial Hall day after day, to 
read the names upon the tablets, to look upon the por- 
traits of the heroes, is a perpetual call to patriotism.'' 
These words of Bishop Lawrence will soon, 1 hope, be as 
applicable to our Memorial Hall as to that of Harvard 
College, of which they were spoken. In the same sermon 
from which they are quoted, the Bishop states that he 
keeps the Harvard Memorial Biographies ahvays stand- 
ing on the shelf at his right hand, next to the Bible; so 
that in any hour of discouragement, he may dip into 
them, and catch some of their noble resolve.t 

" The sons of Harvard, falling ere their prime, 
Leave their proud memory to the coming time." 

♦ See a paper on the Uses of Memorial Hall, in the Morning Mail rf Nov. 30, 1887. 
t Baccalaureate sermon at Applcton Chapel, Harvard University, June 17, 1894. 



110 



OLD RESIDENTS' HIS rOlllCAL ASSOCIATION, 



Some of these " sons of Harvard " were also sons of 
Lowell, and whosoever reads their Memorial Biographies 
will find in them, as in Memorial Hall, a perpetual 
inspiration and a per])etnal Sursnm Corda. 

My topic being i)nblic monuments only, I do not now 
speak of public benefactions having no monumental char- 
acter, such as the Lowell (leneral Hospital and the Ayer 
Home for Young Women and Children; nor of the memo- 
rial windows in our churches; nor of private monuments, 
of which there are some very fine ones in our cemeteries. 
But it is not always easy to draw the line between private 
and public monuments. The Talbot Memorial Chapel in 
the Lowell Cemetery partakes largely of a public char- 
acter, and its use on funeral occasions will, doubtless, 
increase more and more as its fitness for such functions 
becomes better api)reciated. 

In close contiguity to this beautiful chapel are the 




marble monuments erected by Judge Abbott to the 
memory of his lamented sons, one of whom fell at Cedar 
Mountain, the other in the Wilderness. These and other 



PUBLIC MONUMENTS OF LOWELL. 1 1 1 



sons of Lowell were in the mind of 1>. W. IJall, when, in 
187<), lie sano' the souj^- of her .Tnbilee: — 

" Beneath her Canipo Santo's shade. 
Lulled by its gentle river, 
Her youthful braves are sleeping well 
After life's fitful fever." 

The intelliiient visitor to onr Xe('ro])(>lis cannot fail 
ro be impressed by the rn<»<i(Ml bowlder, with the symbol 
of Salvation on either side of it, Avliieh marks the lot of 
Colonel B. F. Watson of the historic Sixtli lleiiinient, with 
the Cross of Constantine (a rare symbol now) lying at th(^ 
grave of his wife. Another striking bowlder, bronght 
from the seashore at (Jloncester to the grave of Dr. Street, 
recalls his fondness for geological in^iniries, wdiile the 
open Bible lying thereon recalls that whicli was his guide 
in life and his consolation in death. 

Governor Talbot has a noble monnment of ^^'esterly 
granite, snrmonnted by a marble statneof Memory nionrn- 
ing. Another statne of Memory occupies an imperial 
position npou a towering shaft on the lot of Mr. Frederic 
Aver. But where shall anything he found comparable, 
from a sculptural view-point, with the noble lion, chis- 
elled in Carrara marble by Mr. A. Bruce Joy, which 
guards the grave of James C. Ayer? His face wears an 
expression of profound gravity, approaching even to sad- 
ness; and some have called him the weeping lion. He is, 
apparently, absorbed in mournful meditation befitting 
the " Citv of the Dead;" but there is no anguish in his 
kingly face, such as seems to wring the heart of his 
sculptural progenitor, the famous Lion of Lucerne. 

POSTSCRIPT. 

At the time of reading the foregoing paper I had not 
A'isited the new Public Library of Boston, which contains 
two monuments eminently worthy of honorable mention 
here. I refer, of course, to the noble lions, carved in 



112 OLD KESIDENTS- HISTOIUCAL ASSOCIATION. 



iJ^iemiese marble, iiiouiited, one «ui the vi^lit, tlie other on 
the left, of the Grand Stairs. These nionninents were 
erected in honor of the Second and Twentieth Regiments 
of Massachusetts Vohmteer Infantry, and in remem- 
brance of the gallant officers and men who fell in their 
ranks, among whom were the two Abbotts and others 
whos<- names will one day be inscribed on the tablets in 
Memorial Hall. They Avere i)resented to the city of l?os- 
ton by the survivors and friends of those regiments, both 
of which displayed in the field such leonine (]ualities that 
perhaps no fitter figure than those marble lions could 
have been selected to typify their character. To me they 
recalled at once the famous epitai)li which I had read, 
thirty years before, over the grave of Ponce de Leon in 
Cuba, and which may be Englished thus: — 

" Here lies one who was a lion by name and a lion by nature." 

Since this paper was read petitions have been pre- 
sented to the Legislature for the erection of a bronze 
equestrian statue of General Butler in Boston, and it is 
said the General's children will soon i>lace a statue of 
liim over his grave in the Ilildreth Oemeterv in Lowell. 





CLEVELAND J. CHENEY. 



F7/. Biographiccd Sketch of the Life of CleDeland J. 
Cheney, by James Francis. Read at the Annual 
Meeting, May 2('>, IStHi. 



C^J.EN'ELANL) JEFFERHiON CHENEY was born in 
Deerino-, N. H., February 20tli, 1823, and died August 
lltb, 1895, at the age of 72 years, 5 months and 22 (hiys. 
He was one of a hirge family of ohihlren, singuhirly 
healthy, of good physical development, and commenced 
life as a farmer. His means of education were those 
afforded by the country school, and he was as well edu- 
cated as the average youth of his time. He was fond of 
mechanics, and devoted himself to all sorts of devices 
requiring skill and genius in this direction, and was the 
sou selected to mend the plough, the rake, and all the 
farming implements with which he had to do, in this 
respect showing himself to be an uncommonly bright and 
promising lad. At the age of 19 years he came to Lowell 
and obtained employment in one of the card rooms of the 
Massachusetts Cotton Mills, where he remained about 
five months. Not finding this occupation to his taste, he 
left for Boston, where he began the trade of a carpenter, 
working on the docks and wharves, repairing and con- 
structing them, driving piles, etc., etc. For six months 
he remained at this work, serving under good and skillful 
men, this experience and training proving of the greatest 
value to him in all his subsequent business life. 

While in Boston young Cheney joined one of the fire 
companies which handled a tub with brakes worked by 
man power, and during this time built for himself a very 
respectable sail boat. He was an active participant in 
all sorts of manly sports. 



114 OLD RESIDENTS' IIISTOIJICAL ASSOCIATION. 



In the spring of 1844, at the age of 21, yonng Chenej 
returned to Lowell, continuing his trade of carpenter, in 
the construction of dwelling houses, and j)ursuing other 
similar work. ]\Iay IJlst, 1847, he entered the employ- 
ment of the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on 
Merrimack Kiver, where he remained until December 1st, 
1894, faithfully serving this company for a period of 47 
vears and months. 

From May 31st, 1847, to September 2(;tli, 18()3, Mr. 
Cheney was under the immediate supervision of Paul 
Hill, then the superintendent (»f the Locks and Canals 
Company. During that period Mr. Cheney was employed 
on many important jobs of work, his skill and industry, as 
a carpenter and mechanic, placing him at the head of his 
codaborers. lie was invariably found where the work 
was the hardest and most difficult to ])erform. In 1847 
he worked on the framing for the new bridges over the 
Northern Canal, which were being constructed. He 
assisted in i)utting in the sheet ])iling in the banks of the 
same canal, for the protection (d" the Tremont «& Suffolk 
foundations. In 1848 he built the house now occui)ied by 
the gate keeper, situated on School Street, near the head 
of the Northern Canal. He was engaged on the construc- 
tion of the Moody Street Feeder in 1848, and in the gen- 
eral work of the company up to September 2oth, 1863, 
when he succeeded Paul Hill as superintendent. 

Mr. Cheney was well qualified for this new position. 
He was physically very strong. He was about 5 feet 10 
inches tall, broad shouldered, with prominent and well- 
proportioned features. 

During winter months, the handling of the ice which 
accumulates in the canals involves much labor. Mr. 
Cheney was always attentive to this work, and at the post 
of duty, clearing the canals of ice, oftentimes in the dead 
of night, with the temperature below zero. During the 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF CF.EVELAND .1. CEIENEV. 115 



warm season ho would be foiiiid witli liis force of men, 
in the canals on Snndays and holidays, at times when the 
water conld b(^ drawn off, making;- necessary repairs, 
enlarji-ements, etc. In 1871 In^ sui>erinten(led the recon- 
struction of the j^uard ^ates of the Pawtncket Tanal, and 
fitted on the hydraulic lifts. This was massive and diffi- 
cult work, especially so as the foundation had to be con- 
structed at nioht and on Sundays, in a way that would 
permit the flow of water throuo-h the work duriuo- mill 
hours. The temporary ^ates, which wtn-e jdaced up 
stream above the permauent j^ates, to admit and regulate 
the water, were well arranged. The gates, masonry, and 
hydraulic lifts were designed by the chief engineer, Mr. 
James B. Francis, but Mr. Cheney had immediate charge, 
and showed great skill in his arrangements for the exe- 
cution of the whole work. 

In 1875 and 1870 Mr. Cheney had charge of the work 
of reconstructing a large portion of Pawtncket Dam, from 
the Great Rock, so-called, to the Dracut shore, in which 
over 400 men were employed, during a large part of the 
time. Mr. Cheney received, and Avas entitled to, much 
praise for his services in handling and in the execution 
of this work. The structure is 20 feet thick at the bot- 
tom, and built of solid rubble masonry, Avith a substantial 
facing of ashlar work, the beds and joints of which were 
grouted, course by course, Avith Portland cement without 
sand. James B. Francis' record of this Avork says, 
'' With the exception of one place, called the ' Deep Place,' 
theashlar Avork on the face of the dam rests on rockledge, 
which Avas cut in steps to receive it. In the ' Deep 
Place,' for about 100 feet in length, the bottom of the dam 
was prepared for the ashlar Avork by leveling up Avith 
rubble masonn^ laid in cement to the height of 20 feet 
and () inches beloAv the top of the dam." The "Deep 
Place " in the dam is situated about 23 feet northeasterly 



116 Or.D RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



from " The Coruer," so-called, on tli<^ side towards the 
Gate House. This ''Deep Place" was an nnlooked-for 
obstacle in the construction of the dam. It was expected 
that the led^e wonhl be found about 15 feet beh)w the top 
of the dam, but instead of that, the ledj'e w^as no less than 
36.7 feet below at the face, and at a point 10 feet back 
from the face it was 38.3 feet beh)w the top of the dam. 
Mr, Cheney, at this time, was in tlie prime of life, 52 
years of age. For five days and nights forces of about 30 
men each worked in the deep trench, in shifts of ten 
hours, and excavated the last 8 to 10 feet in de])tli of earth 
under the most difficult and trying conditions. The chief 
engineer was quick to observe Mr. Cheney's untiring 
energy and faitliful supeiwision, which resulte<l in a suc- 
cessful accomplishment of the task without accident of 
any kind, and for generations to come the present dam 
will stand as a grand specimen of a thoroughly well- 
built structure. 

Another very excellent work performed under Mr. 
Cheney's supervision was the reccmstruction of the canal 
w alls above the guard gates of the Pawtucket Canal, and 
that portion of the lock chamber and lock gates which are 
situated above what is known as the '' Big Gate," which 
was dropped at the time of the great freshet of April, 1852. 
The old walls were laid without cement, a great many 
years ago, probably in 1822 or 1823, and had become inse- 
cure, and in some places the top courses had fallen in. 
In times of extraordinary freshets the old walls were com- 
pletely covered with water, and the possible chance of a 
serious washout made it necessary for the Locks and 
Canals to reconstruct them. The w^ork was done in 1881, 
and the well-constructed walls are evidence of the solid 
stability tliat can easily withstand the action of great 
freshets, such as Lowell has contended with in the i>ast. 

In 1886 Mr. Cheney spent a few months in California 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF CLEVEf.ANl) .1. CHENEY. 117 



with his wife, daughter and invalid son. This trip gave 
him opportunities to examine many places of interest, 
and especially works of construction designed for the 
irrigation of lands, and for otlier purposes. He was a 
careful observer, and liis mind was stored witli ideas 
gathered up from his travels, and from many sources, 
which he subsequently used as occasion required. 

In 1889 the extension of the Boott Penstock was 
made, an elaborate work on the southerly side of the 
Boott or Eastern Canal, its ])urpose being to provide a 
convenient i^assage for water entering from tlie Merri- 
mack Oanal, especially in the winter months, when ice is 
running. This was done under Mr. Cheney's direction. 

A very large amount of labor was performed under 
Mr. Cheney's direction in removing obstructions at the 
head of Hunt's Falls for tln^ purpose of lowering the 
water in the basin above, giving more head of water at 
the turbines in the nulls situated on the river front. His 
labors there extended from the year 1877 t(» 1893, and 
were performed during the summer months, on Sundays 
a.nd holidays, when the stage of the river was low enough 
to permit the work to be done. It has been determined 
that the effect of the removal of obstructions was to lower 
ihe water in the basin back of mills about two feet in the 
ordinary stage of the river. 

These specimens of Mr. Cheney's achievements are 
quite sufficient to indicate the character of work done by 
him. There are others quite as important and imposing 
which might be mentioned. 

Mr. Cheney served in the City Council of Lowell in 
1862, and again in 18(14, and was a member of the special 
committee who had charge of the reconstruction of the 
wooden bridge across Merrimack River at Bridge Street 
in 1862, which was burned in 1882. 

In politics Mr. (%eney's preferences, like those of his 



118 OLD RESIDEXl'S" IIISTOIJirAr. ASSOClAriON. 



father and «;randfatlier, were for tlie Democratic party. 
He had no taste nor inclination to enter actively into the 
political arena, so-called, prefei-rinj; to k(^ep aloof from 
that feeling and strife so often engendered in secnring 
party measnres. He was closely identified with the Free- 
will Baptist Church, but his opportunities for attending 
services were mostly confined to the winter months, Avhen 
he could be spared from his work. 

At the age of 71 years, on December 1, 1S94, Mr. 
Cheney retired from the service of tlie Locks and Canals, 
after 47^ years of almost unremitting toil. The company 
recognized his long an<l faithful stewardshi}) with an 
appropriate present, and he retired to a very attractive 
and comfortable home, which lie had recently built in 
Centralville. At this time he was much broken in health, 
and was not in condition to enjoy, with any degree of 
comfort, the quiet and peace of a home life, to which he 
was entitled after so manv vears of hard labor. He grad- 
ually failed in health, died in the following year, and was 
buried in the family lot in the Lowell Cemetery. 

Mr. Clienev was endowed with a fund of humor, and 
could throw off the cares of work long enough to relate 
a funny story or to crack a joke. 

In the management and control of help Mr. Cheney 
was quick, firm, and decided. With entire confidence in 
his own judgment, his word became a law, and although, 
at times, perhaps, savoring of a severity which might be 
supposed to interfere with his popularity, in the general 
acceptance of that term, he was always found serving the 
interests of thoseforwhom belabored, and could not, there- 
fore, be otherwise than encouraged in the spirit which 
governed his actions. Among the many good qualities 
which he possessed may be mentioned several which 
deserve to be placed upon record. He was skillful in lay- 
ing out and preparing for any new enterprise, giving the 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF CLEVELAND J. CHENEY. 119 



most careful iittentioii to every detail, aud providing for 
f'very contingeucy that could be tlioughl of, and having 
eventhing in the way of materials, tools, aud men in 
readiness before the work commenced. In its execution he 
was master and monarch of all he surveyed. His judg- 
ment was good, and he was always ]»repared to meet any 
contingency in the event of unexpected interruptions or 
obstructions, such as (piicdv-sands, springs of water, cav- 
ing in of banks, and many other difficulties that would 
puzzle and discourage an ordinary man. He had the 
power and patience and courage to master such troubles, 
and above all he was never known to neglect or allow a 
job to be completed except in a thorough and workman- 
like manner. He would stick to it, regardless of himself, 
his meals, or his sleep, and when done he would go home 
tired out and exhausted. 

Mr. Cheney was married at tlu^ age of 23, on May 3, 
1846, to Catherine J. Bean, of (lilmauton, N. H. His home 
life^'ias a happy one. He was fortunate in having a wife 
who was ever ready and anxious to care for him. The 
family of wife, tliret^ daughters and two sons, now 
reduced to the widow, one daughter and one son, received 
nothing but kindness from him. He was a devoted hus- 
band and a considerate father. He left a host of friends 
who will long cherish his memory, and the many excellent 
qualities as a friend and citizen with which he was so 
fully possessed. 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 



Historical Association, 



LOWKIvL, IVLASS. 



OROANIZED DECEMBER 21, 1868. 



Vol. VI, No. 2. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, MAY, 1898. 



' Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours.^' — YoUNG. 



LOWELL, MASS. 

Morning AIail Company, Printers. 

iSgS. 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 



Historical Association, 



LOWELL, MASS 



(JRGANIZED DECErvlBEK 21. 186S. 



Vol. VI, No. 2. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, MAY, iSqS. 



' Tis greatly uiise to talk with our past hours' — YoUNt 



LOWELL. MASS. 

.Morning Mail Company, Printers. 

i8qS. 



1808. 



OFFICERS. 



"Solon \V. Stevens, President. 

Samuel Horn, Mce- President. 

Clarence \V. VVhidden, Secretary and Treas2irer 



EXECUTIVE coivim:ittee. 



J. G. Peabody. 
E. B. Howe. 
A. S. Tyler. 
Samuel P. Hadley 
Samuel Horn. 
Jacob B. Currier. 



Chas. a. Stott. 
Z. E. Stone. 
Charles Cowley. 
James Francis. 
Solon W. Stevens. 
Henry S. Perham. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Biographical Sketch of the Life of Benjamin Walker. By Solon 

W. Stevens. Read Feb. 16, 1S97 [21 

II. The Wamesit Purchase. By Henry S. Perhani, Chelmsford. Read 

Feb. 16, 1897 125 

III. Dea. Seth Pooler. By James S. Russell. Read Feb. 16, 1897 . 148 
IV. Hapgood Wright, His Life and Business Career .... 155 
V. Annual Report. By Solon \V. Stevens, Vice President . . . 165 
VI. Lowell's Once-Popular Newspaper, Vo.\ Populi, 1S41 — 1896. Its 
Rise, Progress and Decline, with Biographical Sketches of 
Those Who Were Prominently Connected with It During Its 
More Than P"ifty-four Years of Life. By Z. E. Stone. Read 
Dec. 21, 1897 172 

VII. Rev. Robert Court, D.D. By Charles Cowley, LL.D. Read June 

21, 189S 207 

VIII. John Eliot's Work at Wamesit. By Charles Cowley, LL.D. Read 

Dec. 21, 1897 220 

IX. The Folks at the Neck (now Lowell), in y^' Olden Time. By Henry 

S. Perham, Chelmsford. Read Dec. 2t, 1S97 .... 234 
Copies of Interesting Papers from the Chelmsford Records. By 

Henry S. Perham 253 



I. Biographical Sketch of the Life of Benjamin 
Walker. By Solon W. Stevens. Read he- 
fore the Association Feb. 16, 1897. 



Mr. Benjamin Walker was born in Wilmington, 
County of Middlesex, in this state, on the 24th of June, 
1822, and died in Lowell on the 11th of November, 1896, 
at the age of a little more than 74 years. He was the 
son of Benjamin and Abagail (Tweed) Walker, and, on 
his father's side was a lineal descendant, through a 
family of enviable reputations in public service which 
had long resided in this country, from Richard Walker, 
commonly known as Captain Richard Walker, who came 
from England about the year 1G30 and made his home 
in Lvnn, Massachusetts ; on his maternal side he was a 
descendant of Elder William Brewster of Plymouth, 
Massachusetts. 

He was educated in the district school of his native 
town, in the Pinkerton Academy of Derry, N. H., and in 
the High School of Lowell. It was the ambition of his 
youth to become a lawyer, and with this purpose in 
view, after graduation at the High School in this city, 
he entered the Law school of Cincinnati, Ohio, but by 
reason of the death of his father in 1840, his legal stud- 
ies were abandoned and he returned to Lowell. 

In consequence of a necessity of adopting new plans 
in life, he removed to Philadelphia and became a mem- 
ber of the Book Publishing House of Walker and Gillis. 
He did not remain there long, however, and in 1847 he 
returned to Lowell, and by reason of his superior skill 
as a penman, an accomplishment which he elevated al- 
most to the dignity of an art, he was elected to the posi- 



122 OLD RESIDEXTS* IIISTOIUCAL ASSOCIATTOX. 



tioii of instructor in penmanship in the public schools 
of this city and retained this position about three years. 
Shortly afterwards he was made paymaster in the Ham- 
ilton Print Works where he continued some twelve 
years in faithful service. In the June of 1862 he en- 
tered the employment of Dr. James C. Ayer & Co.. as a 
correspondence clerk and continued with this enterpris- 
ing business firm through the period of its organization 
into the corporation known as the J. C. Ayer Company 
and for the last six years prior to his death, in addition 
to his other duties, he filled the responsible position of 
clerk of the corporation, being held in high estimation 
for his skill, his honesty, and his fidelity in service. 

My. Walker was a member of the School Board in 
1860 and '61, a member of the Common Council in 1865, 
'66 and '71, Alderman in 1872, '74 and '75, chairman of 
the Republican City Committee for 1871, '72, '73 and 
'74, a director, clerk, and treasurer of the Lowell & An- 
dover Railroad since 1876, a vice-president of the Cen- 
tral Savings Bank, and a director in the Lowell Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company. The fact of continued and 
efficient service in all these honorable and responsible 
positions indicates the high esteem in which he was held 
by his fellowmen. 

Mr. Walker was also a prominent and useful mem- 
ber of various other local organizations. He was at one 
time president of the Middlesex Mechanics' Association 
and for several years in succession was chairman of the 
lecture committee in those times when the influence of 
this organization w^as felt as a power for good in this 
community in uplifting the sentiments and widening the 
intelligence of the people by the facilities of its reading 
room, its rare and valuable assortment of books, and its 



ADDKESS OF SOLON ^V. STEVENS. 123 



annual series of lectures by many of the most distin- 
guished scholars and orators of the land. 

He was a member of the executive committee of 
the Old Resident's Association since its formation in 
1868, and was chosen its president at its last annual meet- 
ing, "which position he held at the time of his decease. 
His abiding interest and continuous faithful service both 
as a member and as an officer in our oro-anization need 
no comment in this hour of our bereavement, for these 
are all written on your memories, and the jotting down 
of words of commendation which naturally come to the 
lips in this connection, would seem much like an at- 
tempt at "gilding refined gold." He believed in the 
usefulness of our association, and worked constantly and 
zealously for the promotion of its interests. His exam- 
ple in this respect would seem worthy of imitation on 
the part of many of our estimable citizens whose names 
we would be glad to see enrolled on the list of our mem- 
bership. 

Mr. Walker was for many years conspicuous in 
musical circles. Music was his avocation, his recreation, 
and his delight. He was one of the originators of the 
Lowell Choral Society, and for ten years served as its pre- 
sident. He was an accomplished church organist and 
practiced his art skillfully for thirty-seven years of his 
life, and during twenty-six of these years he acceptably 
filled the position of organist in St. Anne's Episcopal 
Church of which he was a vestryman. In addition to 
this he was a wise and judicious critic of musical perfor- 
mances, and he frequently wrote valuable criticisms for 
our local papers. 

In 1889 Mr. Walker in company with some Lowell 
gentlemen made a tour in Europe, and on his return he 



124 OI.L) Uf:SIDEXT.S" lUSTOKICAL ASSOClAJlUX, 



publiishecl an interesting account of his travels under the 
title of "Aboard and Abroad" which was read with much 
pleasure by his in;iny friends. 

He was married in 1842 to Catherine, dauu'hter of 
Josiah niid Mary (Stark) GiUis, of Wilmington. Mrs. 
Walker died in 1874, leaving one daughter, Miss Mary 
Catherine Walker; his second marriage occurred in 1876 
with Mrs. Mary E. Rix, daughter of William and Mary 
(Cline) Bryant of Stoneham. 

It was given to our friend to live a long, useful and 
honorable life. He died at his post of duty. He was 
a modest, courteous, affable, conscientious Christian 
gentleman. He was widely known, and no man was 
ever more worthy of the confidence of his fellows. A.s 
we figuratively stand around his bier tonight let us re- 
member liis many virtues, and in gratitude for such an 
exemplary life, let us not be unmindful of the admoni- 
tion which the lesson of the hour brings to each and 
everyone, — "be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye 
know not" the celestial summons will come. 



II. TJie Waniesit Purchase. Bij Heiirij S. Per- 
ham, Chelmsford. Read hefore Old Resi- 
dents' Historical Associaf ion, Lowell, Mass., 
February 16, ISO 7. 



By the Wamesit Purchase the Indians relinquished 
forever, to their white neighbors, their ancient posses- 
sions upon the south side of the Merrimack and west of 
the Concord rivers. 

Here from immemorial time their wigwams had 
dotted the landscape and their frail canoes had glided 
over the waters of the Merrimack. Thev hunted the 
noble game of the forest and plied their rude arts all 
unconscious of the mighty changes to be wrought upon 
their native haunts by the white man's civilization. 

Through the kind offices of the apostle Eliot, this 
tract had been reserved to the Indians by an act of the 
General Court in 1653. Their title now passed to other 
hands and their home from henceforth was in the north- 
ern wilderness. It was such a movement as has since 
become somewhat familiar in Indian history. Allen* 
states that a few families still "remained at Wamesit 
several years ; and others were occasionally there on 
hunting and fishing parties and for the purpose of visit- 
ing their English friends and former neighbors." Sev- 
eral families lingered upon the Dracut side of the river 
as late as 1820. Two Indian pilots w^ere employed about 
that time, to guide the log rafts down the river, one at 

* History of Chelmsford, page 151. 



126 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Wickiseck and the other at Hunt's falls.* (The rafts 
were taken apart above Pawtiicket falls and the logs 
floated around bj way of the canal and Concord river) 
But from the time of King Phillip's war the Indians had 
practically abandoned their Wamesit "plantation" and 
in 1685 the people of Chelmsford took steps looking to 
the purchase of their title. 

The Wamesit purchase was consummated by Jona- 
than Tyng, Esq., of Dunstable, and Maj. Thomas Hinch- 
man of Chelmsford the same year, and conveyed by 
them the year following to fifty proprietors living in 
Chelmsford. 

The conveyance from Tyng and Hinchman was by 
separate deeds one from each conveying to the fifty as- 
sociates one moiety, or half part of one fiftieth of the 
entire purchase, to each purchaser. The original deeds, 
executed upon scrolls of buckskin,! are now in the pos- 
session of a decendant of one of these proprietors now 
living in this city. 

The deed from Tyng reads as follows: 

To all i)eople to whom these Presents shall come greeting know 
ye that the worsh^."P Jonathan Tinj^ Esqu'' of the Towne of Dun- 
stable in the county of midlesex in his maj'.'*'.* Territory and domi- 
nion of New England in America. For and in consideration of the 
full and just summe of one hundred and fiuety pound pound sterl. 
New England coyne to to him well and truel}' paid by jMaj. Thomas 
Hinchman Ens: John fhsk & Serj : Josiali l^ichardson all of the 
Towne of Chelmsford in the forenamed county in New^ England 
aforesd which money so paid hy t[ ]m was for their owne use and 
beliooffe as also for the use and behooffe of seuerall other gentlemen 
and neighbours here after mentioned in this Instrument. The receits 
of said hundred and fiuety pound, the said Jonathan Ting doth by 

*M. L. Hainblet, Esq. 

t A hole ill one of them is said to liave been made by tlie bullet that brought down 
the buck. 



THE WAMESIT Pl^RCHASE. 127 



these presents acknowledg, and there with to be fully satisfyed, 
Contented and paid, & Thereof and of euery part part and par- 
cell, Thereof do fully, freely, clearely and absolutely : acquit, release 
and discharge the said Thomas Ilinchman, John fiske and Josiah 
Richardson, they & euery of them their h[ ]res associates and as- 
signes and eurey of them for Euer. Haue granted, bargained and 
sold. Aliened, Enfeoffed and confirmed, and by these presents do 
fully freely clearly and absolutely grant bargaine and sell. Alien, 
enfeoffe and confirm vnto the said Thomas Hinchnian, John fisk, 
Josiah Richardson sen'' and to their associates, JNl' Moses fhsk, of 
Brantry, ^P Tho clarke, Josiah Richardson Jun"' Jerihmeel Bowers, 
James Richardson, Thomas pari<er, Solomon Keys Jun' Joseph 
Parkiss sen'' Joseph Hide, Edward Spaldin Sen'' Samuel fHetcher, 
Sen. Steuen Peirse, Benjamin Parker, Moses parker, Andrew Spal- 
den, Eliazar Browne, william vnderwood, Nathaniel Howard, John 
wright Jun'' John perrum, John Spalden Jun'' Josiah ffletf.her, Benja- 
min Spaldin, Joseph Spalden, Joseph ffarwell, Solomon Keys Sen' 
Peter Talbott, John Kidder, William ffletcher, Samuel ffoster Jun' 
Edward ffoster, Sam ffoster Sen'' John Steuens, Nathaniel Butter- 
field, Samuel Butterfield, Joseph Butterfield, John Spaldin Sen'' 
John Shipley, m'' Cornelius Waldo Sen'' georg Robbins, John Par- 
ker, John Bates, gorsham Proctor, Peter Proctor, Isaack Parker, 
and Abraham Parker, to each of them and to euery one of them, 
their heires and assignes, and to each and Euery of their heirs and 
assignes, for euer, to their only proper vse and behoofe. one moiety 
or half part of weymesit lands which were sold by y*' Indians of sd 
Weymesit to the said Jonathan Ting, by a deed of ""'^ baring date, 
the sixth day of Septemb'' last past, the moiety or half of said Wey- 
mesett lands being at y"" same time and by y*^ same instrument Con- 
ueyed to Maj : Hinchman aforesaid, this aboue said grant contained 
in this instrument, containes the one half of the wholl purchase 
which was joyntly made by the afore sd Thomas Hinchman and 
Jonathan Ting, the wholl purchase containing all that part of Indian 
plantation called Weymesitt, & lying on y'' west side of concord 
Riuer, but not taking any part of the Indian field that is within 
fence and ditch, by Concord River side, but said land is bounded 
eastward, by said field & Concord riuer, from the most southerly 
Corner, (which is at Chelmsford corner stake, where Billerica, 
Chelmsford & weymesitt land meet all at one stake, by y'' liuer side) 



128 ^~>L1) I'ESIDEXTS- IIISTOirK AL ASSOCIATION. 



viilil you come to the moulli of Concord riuer by inerimacke, 
bounded Northward by raerimack riuer & 'Westward Ij}' wanah^iisits 
old fieUl, and Maj : Hinchmaiis Land, formerly purchased by him of 
the indians, and on y'' South West it is bounded by Chelmsford acc- 
ordino to a former exchaiig betwene said Towne, & said Weymesitt 
indians. Also fine hundred acres more of wilderness land lying on 
the Northside of Meriniack, bounded by patucket falls southward cfe 
by beaner brooke, eastward, according as it was gi anted by y'" ilon- 
'.'''." Generall Court to said plantation & laid out to them be the same 
more or less. The indians by said deed reseruing to them selues, 
their heires and associates for euer, their ancient priuiledges oi all 
fishing j)laces in said land for their owne vse as formerly they hane 
made vse of it, as also free liberty of fier wood & timber np< n ."^aid 
whoU Tract of land on both side merimack (not making any strip 
and Avast of said wood & timber, but to cleare all they cutt downe) 
to them y*^ said weymesitt iidiabitants their heirs and associates for- 
euer. Now it is the one half onh' y' is sold by said Jonathan Ting 
bv this instrument. To Haue and to Hold the aboue granted and 
bargained moiety or halfe jjart of said purchase of Weymesiit with 
all the ])riuiledges and appurtenances to the same appertaining or 
in an}' wise belonging to, them the said Tho Hinchman to each 
indinidall person, one fimtyeth part of y'" wholl moiet}' to be en- 
joyed by euery and each Pson aforesaid, their and euery of their 
heires and assignes foiever to theire and their only Proper vse and 
behooffe. And hee the said Jonathan Ting, for himself his heires 
and admstrators do couenant, promise, and grant to and wiih the 
said Thomas Hinchman, John ffisk. and Josi;;h KichardsonSen' and 
with their heires tfc assignes by these Presents, as 'I'rustees for- and 
in behalfe of the rest of the aboue Named Persons, that lu-e 
the said Jonathan Ting, Now is and at the ensealing and 
deliuery here of shall stand and Hee laAvfuUy and rightly sole 
seized in his demeanes of the aboue granted premises, of 
a good and indefensable estate of inheritance, in fee simple 
by good i-ight and lawful! authourity, absolutely without any 
manner of condition, of morLifjase or limitation of vse or vses, to 
alter change or determine the same. And that hee the said Jona- 
than Ting hath in himselfe good right full power and lawfull author- 
ity the premises to grant bargaine and confirme to them and to each 
and euerv of them named P.>-ons, and to their heires and assignes for 



THE AVAMESIT PrRCIIASE. 129 



euer. And that they the said Thomas Hinchman, John ffisk, Josiah 
IJichardsoii, Moses ffisk, Tho : chu-k, Josiah Kichardson Jun' Jarali 
meel Bowers, James IJichardson. Thomas Parker, Solomon Ke\s 
Jun'' Joseph Parkiss Sen' Jose]>h Hides, Edw : Spaldin Sen"' Samuel 
ffietcher sen'" Steuen Peirce, Ben] : Parker, Moses Parker, and tlie 
rest of the persons aboue named their heires and assignes for 
Euer hereafter shall and Ma\^ at all times, and from time to time for 
euer hereafter, quietly and peaceably Ilaue, Hold, occupy, possess 
and enjoy each person aforesaid and euery one of them, one fiuety- 
eth j^a't of the sd Moiety and aboue granted Premises without the 
lawful! lett, Hinderance, Eiuction, Expulsian [ ]nte. Molestation, 
contradiction or denial of him the said Jonathan Ting, his heires or 
executors, adra'strators or assignes of him, or of them, or of any 
other Pson or Psons what so euer lawfully claiming and hauing aiij^ 
ciuill and legall right title & interest therein or therevnto by from 
or vnder him, or by any other lawfull way and[ ]what so ever, in 
Witness whore of the said Jonathan Ting hath affixed his hand and 
scale herevnto, December the forthten day. Anno Domini one 
thousand six hundred eighty six Anno ; Regin Regis Jacobi secunde 
secundo Memor anduni, that is couenanted & agreed, that the said 
Jonathan Ting, doth yet reserue to him "®" & at his dispose, one 
fiuetyeth part of said moiety exprest in th p'mises & is at equal 1 
charg for it w"' an^- one of ye fortynine, aforesaid, 
signed, Sealed and deliuered in the Presence of 

Samuel Alanning Sen'' 

Josiah Parker 

Nathanell Hill. 
Before signing it h to be vnderstood y' y'' worshipful! Jonathan 
Tynge Esq' doth not in this insti'um' make s'lle of tlie meadow 
in wamesit belonging to y^ Hon'able House of y'- wynthrops w''"' 
meaddow is excepteil & not[ 'jy^ Hon"' Councills Answer to y'' s'' 
Avorshipful Tyngs petition. 

JONATHAN TYNG. 

The Winthrop meadow mentioned was apart of the 
grant to Margaret the widow of Gov. Winthrop in 1G40. 
A part of this grant lay upon the w^est side of Concord 
river. 

In Hinchman's deed of the other undivided half 



130 OT.D IJESIDEXTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



the consideration is 49 pounds ("euery man hauing paid 
for himself twenty shillings in silver and so are thereby 
all equal in purchase.") 

Maj. Hinchman had already purchased Nov. 18, 
1685, Wanalancets old planting field which lay at the 
west of the Wamesit Purchase in what is now Middlesex. 
This land is described as 30 acres-^"south of Merrimack 
river at a place called Neahambeak near Wamesit upon 
Black brook — bounded by Merrimack river on the north 
Hinchmans land on ye west, it contains that whole corn 
fields fenced in with ditch & other wise that was broken 
& improve for some years by said Sachem Wanalan- 
sit & by his sonnes & by his men it lying near to the old 
Indian fort in that place." 

The Indian field at the east end of the Wamesit 
purchase, was bought by Jerathmel Bowers, for "3 
pounds & also much former kindness." It is described 
as "west side of Concord river lying within the Indian 
field that is within Ditch & fence — near their old pound' 
&c.t June 9, 1686. 

This Indian name of what is now Middlesex, Ne- 
hambeak, is given in an earlier deed from the Indians to 
Hinchman, Naamcook.i It is to be regretted that more 
of the Indian names in this vicinity have not been per- 
petuated. The Indian name of the tract at the mouth of 
Stony Brook, is given "Suneanassitt" in a deed from 
Hinchman to Andrew Spaulding, in 1692. § 

The acreage of the Wamesit Purchase is not given. 
General Daniel Gookin who accompanied the apostle 
Eliot, in one of his visits to the Wamesits, estimated 

*Froni Copy of M. L. Hamblett, Esq. 

t Copy of M. L. Hamblett. Esq. 

• Cambridge Kegistry, Vol. 5, P. 120. 

§The deed is now in tne cabinet of the Adams library, Chelmsford. 



THE WAMESIT PURCHASE. 131 



that their grant consisted of about 2500 acres. Allen 
estimated that of this amount 1500 acres were upon the 
west of the Concord. It included about the same area 
as was originally incorporated as Lowell. 

These 50 proprietors of the Wamesit Purchase, 
managed their lands very much as did the proprietors 
of townships in the early days. 

Their record book covers a period of a hundred 
years, and then the last Proprietors' clerk, Benjamin 
Parker, at ^vhose house the last recorded meeting was 
held, laid away the old book, and deeds, in his attic 
where they have since remained. This old book now 
comes forth brown with its age of more than two cen- 
turies, and with its covers badly worm eaten, but with 
contents unimpaired to enlighten us as to the doinus of 
the first white owners of the land now occupied by 
this populous city. 

In this book is given a full description of what each 
man received by the first division of the land, but no 
separate descriptions are given of the alotments by sub- 
sequent divisions. They laid out highways, erected a 
pound, made regulations respecting the maintenance of 
fences, set apart a quantity of land to encourage the 
erection of a mill, and at one meeting (1726) to enforce 
their regulations they chose Surveyors of Highways, 
Fence Viewers, and Field Drivers, who were sworn to 
the performance of their duties. 

The title page of the record book reads : 

"This booke belongelh to the purchasers & proprietors of the 
Wamaset neck and was bougiit by theire order & for theire use 
may : 26 : 1687 : prise : 4':" 

Town Voted. 



132 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The record upon the first page is as follows : 

"Seuerall of the inhabitants of Chelmsford hauing bought a per- 
sel of land of rar Jonathan tyns; of Dunstable and maigor Thomas 
hinchman of Chelmsford, the sd purchesors at a generall meeting at 
Chelmsford ; did Joyntl}' agree together : to ffence in &, in Close 
part of sd land for their present use & in order their unto sd Com- 
jtany did make Choise of a Comette to state y*' fenc & make a di- 
vision of sd land medow & fenc into fifty parts acording to the 
nomber of y*' ))urchesors of sd land ; whos nams are spescefied in y** 
deeds granted from sd. Tyng & hinchman, the Comette haueing 
stated the fenc & mad a diuision of: sd : land medow & fenc. & 
bownded them w' so many marked staks. as are Judged soficient (Js 
maintained by the owners) for each proprietor to know his own pro- 
portion of upland medow land & fenc; the Comette guing notes to 
the proprietors for a meeting .• the : sd ; Company did meet upon the : 
L3 : theenth. day of may 1687 : whear each persun had liberty to 
draw his finger from under a hat each mans proportion of upland 
medow land & seueral persels of fenc answer'ing the finger y' fell 
to him by lot ; each proprietor hauing receued his lot desired their 
seuerall persels of upland medow land & fences should be recorded, 
for the preuenting of futer trobel;" 

Upon the following 50 pages are recorded the des- 
criptions of each man's portion of the first allotment. 
From these descriptions it appears that the field which 
they had voted to inclose for '^their present use" con- 
sisted of 900 acres, with a fence upon the south side and 
upon the east and west ends ; the Merrimack river mak- 
a fence unnecessary upon the north. 

The lots, which were numbered from west to east 
extended, with a few exceptions, from the fence upon 
the south back to the Merrimack river. The exceptions 
were lots 1 and 2 (at the west end) which were bounded 
upon the north by the Indian ditch near to Merrimack, 
lots 40-41-42-43-44 which were bounded upon the north 
by land reserved at the fishing place, and the six at the 



THE WAMESIT FUKCHASE. 133 



east end of the field which were bounded north by Paw- 
tucket meadow, each person selecting his lot, as we 
have seen, by the impartial method of drawing his figure 
from beneath a hat. 

I will read one of these descriptions which will be 
sufficient for an understanding of the whole. Instead 
however of selectinoi: a fiu:ure from under a hat I will 
take number 50 as I shall have occasion to refer to that 
lot later on. 

"The vpland medovv Land & several persels of fenc w'' belong- 
elh to Thomas Parker it being his full proportion in y** iirst Diuisiou 
of y*' waraaset Land as it fell to him by Lott upon y'" 13^'' day of 
may : 1G87. 

1. 18 Acres being y^ 50"' Lott bownded on y*"- south by y'' fenc 
on y® east by A Range of stakes marked w' 50''': Vpon A Lyne from 
stake to stake from sd fenc to patucat medow on y'' North by patu- 
cat medow, r-'^mnjoimsteveasmeaow qq y„ ^ygg^ by y'^ Land of John Per- 
hum. 

2. Two Acers more or Les Lying on y'^' north side of speens 
brooke, bownded on y'" North by y'^ higeway, on y*^ east corner by A 
Stake marked w^ 50'^, Kuning down by Another stake to speens 
brooke on y^ south by speens brook, taking y'' bredt[ ] of two Lots 
next speens brook from sd brook to samuel ffoster Juns. vpland, on 
y® west by samuel fosters '^'"^ vpland. 

Also three persels of fenc, Two of which Lyeth At y*^ west end 
of sd feeld being y^ 50"' Lott both ways. 

3. Three or four poll A y*^ east end of sd ft'eeld At y'^end of y 
Indian Ditch by merimack River side." 

Most of the proprietors had two of the small lots 
outside the fence, or ''without the fence" and some had 
three; one lot in each case being meadow. 

This large field was known by the name of the 
"general field" or "Wamesit Field." It was used in 
common for some years as a pasture for stock. 



e 



134 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



At a meeting of the proprietors March tlie 7, 1712 it was voted 
"that every man that hath Right or Rights in sd neck : may turn in 
six creturers to a Right & no more." In "feb 13 1722 et wos 
voted yt the fence aboute sd felld shall be shall be made acording to 
law and so contenewee yerely by the seuenth day of martch. 

3 te was voted that now Cretors shoud be torned in to sd felld 
only from the seuenth of ocktober To the Thurteth." This would 
indicate that the field was under cultivation and only pastured after 
the crops were harvested. 

This also ajtpears from a deed from Stephen Peirce to his son 
Robert Mch 3, 1729-30* of land "within the Now improved Gener- 
all feild '" Wamassett ajoining to Chelmsford." 

In 1739 however it would appear to be again in 
pasturage as a committee of twelve was chosen to see 
that six creatures were turned in to a right and no more. 

In the history of Chelmsford by Rev. Wilkes Allen, 
published in 18201 he describes the field thus "The 
north west boundary of said 'purchase' began near the 
head of the Middlesex Canal and so to the glass manu- 
factory and thence running near the houses of the late 
Mr. Philip Parker, Mr. Micah Spalding; and Capt. Benj. 
Butterlield, terminated at Wamesit falls in Concord 
river, or at the mouth of River Meadow Brook." 

Philip Parker, here mentioned, lived upon, what is 
now, Pine street ; Micah Spalding at the corner of 
School and Liberty streets, and Capt. Butterfield upon 
Hale street where stands the residence of the widow of 
the late Benj. Edwards, a few rods from Lincoln square. 

To give his description by the present city streets it 
would be bounded by Baldwin, Pine, Liberty, and Hale 
streets and from there to Wamesit falls or to the mouth 
of River meadow brook. 

The names of the proprietors given in the descrip- 



*Ben,iamin Parker papers. 
t Page 15. 



THE wa:mes[t pukchase. 135 



tioiis in the record book corresponds with tliose in the 
deed, bnt varies slightly from a list in the book headed 
'•The Names of the first Proprietors of Wamesit Pur- 
chers." In the latter the name of Joshna Fletcher is 
omitted and that of Cornelius Waklo occurs twice, and 
the name Peter Fascutt is given in place of Peter Tal- 
bott. The list is not in the handwriting of either the first 
clerk Eleazer Brown, or his immediate successor Sol- 
omon Keyes Sen. 

The first action in reference to the mill lot appears 
in the record of the meeting of "march; 17: 1695-96, a 
vote in reference to the undevided land was passed at 
the same time. 

1. y^ y*^ stream together w' twenty Acors of Land below win- 
tlirops meadow on both sids of y*^ brook sball be Reserued for y® 
vse of y*^ whol Company y' is to be vnderstod y' place whear it is'"'^-' 
Conuenient to set vp A mill : this sd twenty Acors is to be Layd 
out befor y*^ Lots are Layd out, this voted 

2. y* all y'' vndiuided Land & meadow on this side merimack 
shall be deuided this year ensueing, this voted." 

It appears by a subsequent vote that the same meth- 
od was used in selecting the lots by each man drawing 
his ''figer." 

The following is the description given of the mill lot. 

"aperell the : 11 : 97. 

land layd out for the incoregdment of bilding a mill at wamasite 
this land is twenty aceres moer or lese bounded south and southarly 
by the riuer medo riuer and north and noreast and norweast b}^ 
marked tres : one whight ocke one red ocke on the nor weste j^art : 
on the north and noreast part : thre black ocke tres marcked : one 
acere of sayd land lys on the south syd of sayd riuer by the mill place. 

Solloman Keyes, senier. 
Sameuell foster, Junier. 
Andrew Spolding, Senier. 

Committe." 



136 OLD l^ESIDENTS^ IIISTOUK AL ASSOCIATION. 



By these votes we find that it is just 200 years 
since the first movement was made proposing to utilize 
some of the abundant water power within the present 
limits of this city for manufacturing purposes. A primi- 
tive saw mill only was then contemplated. There is no 
record to show when the mill was erected, or by whom, 
but a record in 1714 shows that the mill was there at 
that time. I will give the full record of that meeting. 

"•Chelmsford sum Time in The munthof Nouember 1714 et wos 
voted at a meting of the proprietors of wamaset pvrches yt The land 
Land Lefte vndivided by The sa^^ mell place should be diuideed in to 
fifty loots and hywayse conveniant to The fishing place and to the 
sa"'mell and in to concord riuer Neck — Edward foster Edward 
Spavlding Stephen peirce wos chosen for To lay out These loots and 
hywayse,' fist a hyway '•^'"^ laid """ Throw sd Land roneing To the 
neckfield fence To m^ P>orlens land Two Rod wide 2 a hyway from 
this hyw[ ] to the sawmill be Tweene Solomon Keyses house and 
barn Two Rod wide 3 a hyway from the saw mell esterly by marked 
Trees to a black ock Tree marked by The side of The River Two 
Rod wide a liyway from The a boue sd black ock a croce the Riuer 
and by stacks To The formar deuided land- 

4 a hyway from The fust hyway below The place calde y*^ wol- 
nut Tree to The olde ford way aboute six rod wid 

as wetnes our hand this Twent}^ forth 
day of Janawary 1715 
Stephen peirce atest 

Edward Spaulding Stephen peirce 

coramety Clark" 

It seems from these entries that the saw mill w^as 
upon River Meadow Brook, perhaps where Hale's mill 
was erected later. 

The mention of Solomon Ke3^es' house in the record 
just read leads me to digress a moment, as it sheds light 
upon a disputed question. Solomon Keyes (born June 
24, 1G65) was the son of Solomon, the second proprie- 



I'lIE WAMESIT I'lIM IIASK. 137 

tois' clerk, who died in 1702 (Mcli 28). He also Iiad a 
son *Solonion (l)orn Mav 11, 1701) 13 years of ao-e al 
the time of this record. This son was later a member 
of the company of Ca])t. John Lovewelland participated 
in the famous "Love well's Fii^'ht," that obstinate and 
deadly fight with the Indians in the wilderness. His 
part in the battle is thus told by f Pai'kman. "Solomon 
Keyes, of Billerica received two w ounds, but fought on 
till a third shot struck him. He then crawled up to 
Wyman in the heat of the fight, and told him that he, 
Keyes, ^vas a dead man, but that the Indians should not 
get his scalp if he could help it. Creeping along the 
sandv edge of the pond, he chanced to find a stranded 
canoe, pushed it afloat, rolled himself into it, and drifted 
away before the wdnd." Fortunately a favoring breeze 
wafted him across the lake, and, notwithstanding his 
wounds, he succeeded in reaching the stockade. There 
he found several others of the survivors with whom he 
set out through the wilderness for Dunstable which 
place they managed to reach six days liter. The brave 
and hardy Keyes recovered from his wounds but was 
killed in battle thirty years later at Lake George while 
commanding a company from Western (now Warren) 
Mass. Why he was credited to Billerica does not ap- 
pear. Hazen's History of Billerica gives no evidence of 
such a name there until it appeared upon their tax list 
in 1749. Hodgman, the Westford historian, claims him 
for that town, We will make the claim for Chelmsford 
where we find his early home at Wamesit, and the name 
upon the tax list until after the date of Lovewell's fight. 
What disposition was made of the 500 acres includ- 

*Keyes Geii. I88O, F. 74. 

tHalf Century of Conflict, Vol. 1, P. 255. 



138 OI.D KESIDEXTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 

ed in the ''purchase" upon the north side of the Merri- 
mack river does not appear from anything to be found 
in the record book. Allen states* that it "appears to 
have been retained l)y the Indians." 

If so it was by sufferance only. It evidently had a 
recoo-iiized value. In 1702 a committee was chosen to 
run the line ''Betwene the Varnums and said proprietors 
on the land purches'' by said proprietors on the North 
side of Merimake Riuer" and further to employ "Capt 
Danforth as an x\rtic" (artist i if they "should see cause" 

and S:ir. Solomon Keyes iccoids the salej in 1701 "to capten bowe-r 
my wbol intrest in the five liundred acres on the north syd of raera- 
mack wliich belongs to my lot in wamesat neck." 

Tile following are some of the lucal names given in descriptions 
of land and highways. 

Georges' ])rookt Tine Hill 

Speens§ brook lUack Ijrook Hill 

I'ond mt-adow meeting house Hill 

IJound '• Wamesit meeting housell Hill 

I'awtucket meadow (ireat swamp 

VVamesit meadow lilind bridge 

Long Pond Great Tine plain 

UoiukI i'ond Long cause 

These names have long since gone out of use. Some 
of them however can be located from their relation to 
other objects. Pa^vtu(•ket meadow extended from the 
fishing place, at the foot of Pawtucket falls, to the mouth 
of the Concord river. They liave since been filled in 
and occupied by the mills along the river bank. Wame- 
sit meadows were alono; the ('oncord river. 



* p. 170. 
t P. 53. 

§Named for an Indian ".Tames Speen. Indian, received «8 for four wolves heads," 
Hazens liilleriea 1'. l'.)5. 

lAlso given (ieorge Kobbins' brool<. 
II V. -in. 



THE WAMESIT PLECIIASE. 139 

The "long cause" was the causewny where PLain 
street crosses the river meadow. In the early Chelms- 
ford records the load from the centre of the town in 
that direction was described as the road to the "long- 
causeway." The "great pine plain" was upon the south 
side of River Meadow Brook and included the land now 
occupied by the Catholic and Edson cemeteries. The 
name "Wamesit meeting house hill" is probably^ the 
iiarne given to the .spot where the ai)08tle Eliot was 
accustomed to irather the Indians about him to teach 
them the principles of the christian religion. The name 
occurs in the description of Moses Parkers' small lot, or 
lot 2. It reads "Two Acers moie oi- Les frying at wama- 
set meeting house hill bownded on y*" North by y® high- 
way, on y^ North east (Corner so Ihining down by 
another stake to wamaset medow, on y* south by wama- 
set medow, on y** west bv thomas Parkers Long Lott" 

The name occurs also in the description of a high- 
way recorded in 1696. 

"3 y" way begins at A blake oake vpon y'' meeting house hill 
<fc gos along y^ south side sd hill by marked trees cfe gos ouer wame- 
sit medow in mr John Fisk his Lott dc on y south side sd meadow 
Cros all y* Lots to mr Moses fisk his Little Lott" 

There are two points given in this first description 
which help us in fixing its general location : its southern 
boundary upon Wamesit meadow^, and its western bound- 
ary upon Thos. Parkers "long lot". Parkers' lot was No. 
50 in the general field, and therefore at the extreme 
east end. If there was ever a hill near the corner of 
Central and Merrimack streets I should say that that 
might be the place. 

Provision w^as made for the convenience of fisher- 



140 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCTATIOX. 

men by "*A small piUfKel of Land against y^ fishing 
place Reserued As well for strangers As town dwelers 
To bait y^ horses." They were not so liberal however 
towards strawberry pickers as " it was voted that evry 
propriator shall pick strabres. Apone his one land and 
yt no parson that is not A propriotor shall pick A pone 
Any mans Loot on Las Te oner of The loot be Thare 
with tham." 

The fishing [)lace was sure to be kept open as. the 
fish were abundant and furnished an important article of 
food up to the time when the factories were established 
along the livers' banks. As Mr. .Sidney Davis describes 
the method which he has seen employed for taking 
fish it was by nets, one of which was spread between 
two boats, and as thev rowed into shoal water at the 
shore their haul would load a wagon with the salmon 
and shad. No farmers cellar was well furnished without 
its barrel of salted fish ; indeed so abundant and cheap 
were they that it is said that in ordei to prevent appren- 
tices from being fed too exclusively upon a fish diet, it 
was sometimes specified in their indentures that only a 
certain proportion of their food should consist of shad. 
We mav conclude that Merrimack river salmon were 
hio-lily esteemed in Boston for when Justice Oliver 
Fletcher of (Jhelmsford wished to give a present to his 
friend Judge Sewall in 1766 he sends a nine pound salmon, 
which "my said Brother deli*^ at his house in Boston." It 
seems that salmon also frequented the smaller streams 
in the vicinity as the selectmen testified in 1745 that 
the mill dams were no obstacle to their course in Great 
brook. "Chelmsford March y^ IT'^ 1744^ we whose 



p. •'. 



THE WAMESIT PURCHASE. 141 



names are here unto Subscribed are of oppinion that the 
Mill Dams a Cros Grate Brook so Called in Cheemsford 
is of no damedg to any person or to the publeck in per- 
ticuler, so to the Coarce of Fishes pasen Espetially 
Saman Shad Ealwaives & c — but is oi Service to the 
Publect to have them kept up and Improved. 

Ephraim Spaulding ^ Selectmen 
Dan! Procter ■ ^ 

Benj ('hamberlin [ 

Zachariah Richardson J Chelmsford 

Allen, the Chelmsford historian, estimated* "The 
quantity of salmon, shad and ale wives, caught in 
Chelmsford annually may be computed at about 25 
hundred barrels, besides a large quantity of other fish 
of less value." 

As the Wamesit land came to be divided into farms 
there was a smaller number of proprietors. 

In 1750 there were but sixteen. The record of that 
meetina: is as follows : 



At a meeting of ye proprietors of wamaset purchase Regularly 
cald on January ye 29/ 1750 then they preceded as follows. 

1 voted that each proprietor haueing twenty acrs of land should 
be alowed to vote in sd meeting and so for a greattor or lesor num- 
ber acordingly. 

2 it was aofread that the names hear after mentiond should be 
allowd to vote as follows first that Thomas Fletcher should vote on 
four rits 

Andrew Fletcher on seuen 
Sert Benjamin Parker on five 

Henry Fletcher on three 
Sert Joseph moors on Seuen 

Stephen Fletcher on fine 
Sert Jerathmiel Bowers on fine 



*P. 41. 



142 OLD KESIDEXTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Benjamin Parker Juiir on two 

Ebenezer Frost on one 
Qua' Robert Peirce on fine 

Josiah Fletcher on two 
Sert Henry Stevens on two 

Robert Fletcher on four 

John Burg and David Butterfield on one 
Cap' Ebenezer Parker on one 
Ser' James Perkust on one 
Cap' John Butterfield on two 

Stephen I^eirce on two 

2 voted and chose Cap' Ebenezer Parker modderator 

3 voted and chose Robert Fletcher Proprietors clerk. 

4 voted and Chose Ser' Benjamin Parker Cap' Ebenezer l^'arker 
Ser' Joseph moors Qua' ^'"''^■'■' Peirce and Robert Fletcher Committy 
men to renew ifc rectifie and Settle the Bounds betwen the parties 
owning lotts formerly laid out. 

5 voted that any five of the proprietor applieing them Selues to 
the Clrk to haue a meeting Calld he Should notifie and Call meet- 
ings for the futer. 

G voted that the meeting for the futer Should be att Corn' Jonas 
Clark. 

Attest Robert Fletcher, Clrk. 

Col. Jonas Clark here mentioned kept the tavern by 

Clark's ferry, now known as the "old Middlesex tavern." 

No meeting was again called until 1773 (Aug. 7.) 

and then "at the house of Moses Davis, Inholder in Chelmsford at 
one of the Clock in the aftor noon." 

"to revive the former committee to see what they 

will doe concering the opening their waterin*-' pi-'i^^e" 

and "to see what they will doe with the undevided Lands or any 

part of them. 

Robert Fletcher 

proprietors Clark." 
Moses Davis lived at Davis' corner where the prop- 



THE WAME61T i'L lU IIASE. 143 

erty is still held by his descendants. His Inn accom' 
modated travelers passing throu^^h to Salem. 

But one meeting was held after that, the record of 
which is brief. 

"Chelmsford January the 13 / 1785 :xt a Meeing of a Number 
of the Proprietors of Wamasett piirchas so called at the House of 
Benjamin Parker January the IB) 1785 ■" ''^"'^ '^•■'"'' '" "^^^ •'"'' "o*^" in order 
to Chuse a Clark for the to Keep the Boock and All other Rifditinss 
first proc^aded and Choase Mr iMoses Davis iModrater for sd Meetinsr 
then p'OceiKJed and Chose Benjamin Parker their Proprierts Clark." 



Mr. Benjamin Parker was a, son of one of the first 
proprietors, Benj. Parker. His house stood upon what 
is now Pine sireet, near the Highland school. One of his 
descendants, Mr Henry E. Parker, (of the fourth gen- 
eration from Clerk Benjamin*) still occupies the ancestral 
homestead. And to that family we are indebted for 
the preservation of these valuable historic records. 

This old record book contains not a line in reference 
to the hardships and dangers encountered by those who 
established their homes upon this tract. 

The purchase of their lands from the Wamesits was 
an amicable transaction, but they were n-^vertheless in 
danger of attack from bands of hostile Indians in quest 
of scalps and captives. In 1695, such a band surprised 
some families in Billerica, killing or cari-ying away as 
captives fifteen persons. Other neighboring towns suf- 
fered at different times. So that the dan^-er must have 
been sufficient to keep the families in a constant state of. 
anxiety and dread. A petition f on file in the Massa- 
chusetts archives of which the following is a copy, shows 



* 1 Kenjamin. 2 Jeduthan. 3 Beujainiu. 4 Henry E. 
t Petitions, Vol. 72, P. 247. 



144 OLD KES1DENT8- IIISTOKKAL ASSOCIATION. 

the dangrer to which thev felt themselves exposed in 
1725: 

"To y" honourable William Dummir Esq' Lieut Governour in 
Chief in and over her Majesties province of the Massachusetts bay 
in New England The peli'ion of y'' subscribers Humbly Sheweth 
that where as Merry make Iliver is at present ^''"'^ Exceeding low 
and thereby y'' Town of Chelmsford is very Exceedingly indangered 
and we humbly ]>ray your honor wee maybe allowed a scout of men 
to sf,out upon siii ( River and other Exposed partes of the Town for 
about y*" space <tf Two months from y** Date here of as in Duty bound 
your horable petitioners shall ever Ever pray 

Jonathan Richardson Captains for 
Jonas Clarke Chelmsford 

Chelmsford June y" 23 : 17-25 " 

But notwithstanding; these dangers which menaced 
them they had prospered so that at the very time of this 
petition they felt themselves sufficiently strony; to enter- 
tain the ambition to assume the responsibilities of a sep- 
arate town. Heretofore although \Vamesit had not been 
formally annexed to Chelmsford, they were considered 
as inhabitants of that town, and it was there that they 
went to meeting and were assessed for taxes. This 
anomalous condition could not always continue. In 
1725 the General Court refused to seat the Representa- 
tive from Chelmsford, Deacon Stephen Pierce, who lived 
at Wamesit, on the ground that he was not a resident of 
Chelmford.* This brought matters to a crisis. The 
people of Wamesit refused to pay the taxes that had 
been assessed upon them. 

The inhabitants of Wamesit together with the peo- 
ple adjacent to them on the east side of the Concord 
river petitioned the General Court to be " erected into 

* Allen, FP. 171: 45. 



THE AVAMESIT PllfC IIA.SE. 145 



a separate and distinct Town/'* and Chelmsford sent in 
a petition by the selectmenf asking to have Waniesit 
annexed to Chehnsford. 

Tlie General Court took the petitions into consider- 
ation and, June 10, 172G, "Ordered that they Prayer of 
the Petition l)e so far granted, That the Tract of Land 
called Wanieset & y'' Inhabitants thereon be and hereby 
are annexed to and accompted as Part of the Town of 
Chehnsford." % 

Faihng in their efforts to become a separate town, 
they petitioned the General Court two years later to be 
formed into a separate precinct. The following is the 
report of the legislative committee and the action 
thereon, April 9, 1729: " Spencer Phips Esq' from the 
Committee on the Petition of the Inhabituits of Wam- 
asset gave in the following Report, viz. The Committee 
appointed on the Memorial of k!^amuel Hunt and others 
Inhabitants & Proprietors of Lands called Wamasset 
Purchase or Winthrops Farm, by an Order of this Court 
of June the seventh list past, have in Obedience to the 
said Order repaired to the said Lands petitioned .for to 
be erected into a Precinct & have carefully viewed the 
said Land & considered the Situation & Circumstance^ of 
the Petitione'-^ as well as the Town of Billerica in this 
affair, & are humbly of Opinion, That the Lands here- 
after described together with the Lands commonly called 
Wamasset or Indian Purchase & their respective Inhabi- 
tants be erected into a distinct & separate Precinct : The 
Line to begin at Concord River between the Lands of 
John Rogers Jun' & Enoch Kidder & so on that line to 



* Mass. Court Kecords Vol. 13, P. 55. 

t Allen, P. 171. 

jMass. Court Records, Vol. 13, P. 154. 



146 OLD RESIDEXTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



the Way leading to Winthrops Farm so called thence on 

a strait line to the South East End of Prospect "'" six 

Score Rods North of the House of James Kittredge, 

Continuing the same Line to Andover Line ; From 

thence on Andover Line to Merrimack River thence on 

said River to the Bounds till it comes to Chelmsford old 

Line (which was the Bounds between the said Town & 

Wamesset or Indian Purchase) Keeping said Line to 

Concord River to a Stake called Patucket or Wamasset 

Stake ; Thence crossing Concord River to the Bounds 

first mentioned : W-^ includes Wamesset or the whole 

Indian Purchase : — And is submitted In the name 

& by order of the Comm^?.^ 

Spencer Phips 

Ju 

In the House Represent'''^^ Read & Ordered that the^ 
Lands Set forth & deliniated in the within Report be & 
hereby are made & constituted a distinct & Separate Pre- 
cinct (The former Order of this Court referring to 
Wamasset Purchase Land notwithstanding :) And the 
Inhabitants of said Lands are hereby vested with the 
Powers Privileges & Immunities that the Inhabitants of 
other Precincts within this Province by Law are or ought 
to be vested. Provided that the Inhabitants of said Pre- 
cinct do within the space of three years from this time 
order & finish a good and Suitable House for the publick 
Worship of God & place it where the Committee that 
have already viewed the said Lands shall appoint & 
also procure & settle a learned orthodox Minister of good 
Conversation & make Provision for his comfortable & 

honourable Support 

In Council ; Read & Concurd." * 



'Court Kecords, Vol. 14, PP. 242, 243. 



THE WAINIESIT PURCHASE. 147 

It seems that the opposition of Chehiisford pre- 
vented this act from being carried into effect, for in 1730 
the town paid to "To Maj'' Jonas Chxrk to answer his 
bill of Expense and time expended about getting the 
neck Land of from being a precinct 03-04-06." 

The people at the Neck continued their relations to 
the Chelmsford ('hurch up to the time embraced in. the 
memory of some persons now living. Mr. Sidney Davis 
tells of the long ride there to meeting on Sunday morn- 
ings and the sermons of the minister, Rev. Wilkes Allen. 
He remembers also that pastors' parochial calls at the 
Davis home (at Davis corner) observing that when the 
decanters of liquor were set on (as the social custom of 
the time demanded) the minister partook sparingly. 
The " noon house," where the family of Silas Pierce 
spent the intermission between the morning and after- 
noon service, stood at the corner of Lowell and Billerica 
streets. 



III. Deacon Seth Pooler. By James S. Russell. 
Read Feb. 16, 1S97. 



When I heard of Dea. Seth Pooler's death I thought 
some notice of him wouhl be proper by the Okl Resi- 
dents' Association. I knew nothing of his early life ; 
and I directed a letter to his residence in Rutland, Vt., 
asking for some points in his early history. But having 
received no response I concluded that Dea. Pooler left 
no representative alive. Fortunately, there has come 
into my possession an autographic letter written by Dea. 
Pooler, dated April 10, 1893. I think I can do no better 
than to let him speak for himself : 

"Rutland, Vt., April 10, '93. 
I was born in Rutland, Vt., Feb. 19th, 1804. I at- 
tended the public schools and the academy till fitted for 
teaching. Then taught a district school in Rutland ten 



DEACON SETH POOLEi;. 149 



winters, working on the farm summers, adding as best 
I could a little to my short stock of knowledge. 

In October, 1836, business called me to Boston. 
Stopping over the Sabbath in Lowell I was introduced 
to Rev. Lemuel Porter as a Vermont schoolimister. Mis 
reply was : ' You are the very man we were looking for, 
as assistant teacher in one of our grammar schools.' I 
went to Boston on Monday morning, accomplished my 
business, returning at night to Lowell, and Tuesday 
morning went into the Chapel Hill grammar school as 
assistant teacher for Joshua. Merrill, remaining through 
the term. I was then transferred to the new grammar 
school on the North Common as Otis G. Merrill's assist- 
ant teacher, renuiining there one year, then appointed 
teacher of English branches in the Lowell High School, 
with Moody Currier principal, and James S. Russell 
teacher of mathematics. 

I remained in the high school three years. In the 
meantime the Moody school house had been built at the 
corner of East Merrimack and High Streets, and I had 
the appointment of principal, with Mr. Thompson, Miss 
Bartlett, and Miss Eastman assistants. Mr. Thompson 
being a good musician, I proposed to him to sing with 
the scholars occasionally, accompanying with his violin. 
This exercise was very pleasing, not only to the scholars 
but the school committee, and at the commencement of 
the next term, singing was introduced into all the public 
schools in Lowell. I remained as principal of the Moody 
school nineteen years, and then resigned. 

After serving one year in the Massachusetts legis- 
lature, I removed to Fall River, went into the insurance 
business, associated with Mr. L. Barnard, remaining till 
his death, serving on the school committee several years. 



150 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

In 1882 I returned to Rutland, Vt., to spend the evening 
of my days in the shadow of my native hills that I 
always loved. You can make such use of this sketch as 
you think proper. Please return photo. 

Yours respectfully, 

SETH POOLER. 

18 Washington Street, Rutland, Vt." 

I think Dea. Pooler is in error in some of his figures. 
From October, 1836, one term with Mr. Merrill would 
bring him to Januar}', 1837 ; one 3^ear with Mr. Merrill 
would reach to January, 1838; and three years in the 
high school would reach to January, 1841. 

Bearing on this latter date I quote from a letter 
dated Feb. 6, 1840, written by one of his a'^sistants: " I 
have been in school four weeks." This shows that the 
Moody school was opened in January, 1840, which would 
give Mr. Pooler only two years in the high school, " I 
like Mr. Pooler, the principal, very much. He is a man 
about forty, has a family in the city, and is a deacon in 
one of the Baptist churches here." 

His nineteen years in the Moody school would bring 
him to January, 1860. 

Bearing on this date, I quote from the school com- 
mittee's report for 1856: "The Moody school has 
changed its teachers throughout. Mr. Pooler has retired 
fi-om the profession, gracefull}^ wearing the honors of a 
veteran and successful teacher." 

At the writing of this letter Mr. Pooler was nearly 
ninety years old. He probal)ly wrote from memory, 
and at that age ir. is excusable if memory does not 
strictly accord with facts. 



DEACON SETII POOLER. 151 



When the Lowell High Sciiool was located in the 
BarLlett school house, in 1838, Mr. Pooler was elected 
assistant teacher to teach English grammar and other 
D-rammar school studies. He continued with the school 
throuo-h the church attic on Suffolk Street, and the Free 
Chapel on Middlesex Street, to the new building on 
Kirk and Ann Streets. 

There the schools were reorganized into male and 
female departments. Besides the two principals there 
was to be a teacher of languages and a teacher of math- 
ematics. 

Mr. Pooler was retained as the teach-er of lany^UMo-es 
till the Moody school should be opened, for which the 
building was in process of construction His reputation 
was such as to designate him to be the principal of the 
new school. He had taugrht district schools in Vei-mont 
and was well ^rrounded in the common iirammar school 
studies. Beyond that his education was limited. 

While holding the title of teacher of languages, he 
was accosted by Mr. J. G. Carney, who was much inter- 
ested in the new cemetery, asking him to get up a Greek 
name for the cemetery. He knew as much of Greek, 
perhaps, as did Peter Dowse of Latin literature, who, on 
his way to be examined, passing a brook, saw a mud eel 
by moonlight ; and astonished the learned board by his 
extemporary Latin : " Elo mudo moonum sliinum." 

In due time Mr. Pooler became the principal o: the 
new Moody school, which position he held for many 
years. In the earlier part of that time he was a very 
popular and successful teacher^ working harmoniously 
with his scholars and assistant teachers. 

He was not, however, a progressive teacher, seek- 
ing earnestly for improved ways and means. He did 



152 OLD KESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



little to improve his own education and a, professional 
ability. Of course, if progress is not forward, it will be 
retrograde. A teacher's position is no place to slacken 
effort. He was led into politics and carried away by 
the Know Nothing craze; not because he was dissatisfied 
with the Whig party, of which he had been a loyal 
member, but his minister, Rev. Dr. Eddy, was a leader 
in that direction. The Baptist brethren have the virtue 
of following their minister's lead. This is well when 
they lead aright; but when they lead into politics, or 
into the delusion of sudden wealth by patent motors, 
their repentant followers fare no better than others. 

Dr. Eddv went to the legislature and became the 
speaker of the house. His deacon followed him, and 
served the state one term, which was as much as most 
of his fellow legislators served. 

This diversion furnished Master Pooler a graceful 
retirement from the teacher's profession. 

He then entered into life insurance agencies, in 
which he made a living business till, from advancing 
age, and family heredity, his trembling hands refused to 
do the necessary writing. 

The last ten years of his life he lived with his 
elder brother, Amasa, in Rutland, Vt., where he was 
born in February, 1804. The two aged brothers leis- 
urely cultivated an acre of garden. 

The family consisted of himself and wife, a brother 
and two sisters, all very aged. In a letter written in 
June, 1883, he states that the average of their ages was 
over eighty years. 

He died July 20, 1896, aged ninety-two years and 
five months. His wife was two or three years older 
than himself, and preceded him to the grave, as did the 



DEACON SETII POOLER. 153 



Others, unless his youngest sister may yet be living. 
She was at one time a teacher in one of Lowell's public 
schools. 

Mr. Pooler was the first to die of the three teachers 
in the Lowell High School, when it was located in the 
Free Chapel, and at the time of his death the average 
age of those three men was ninety-one years. 

In view of such an instance of longevity, who shall 
say that teachers are short lived; or that teaching is an 
unhealthy business? It is the worry and friction that 
shortens the lives of those teachers that are not naturally 
fitted for the employment. 

Mr. Pooler was of a social nature, happily married, 
but having no children of his own he generally had in 
his familv the child of some relative. He was not ambi- 
tious of fashionable society, but he enjoyed quiet social 
intercourse among his friends, of whom he had man}', 
especially among his Haptist brethren. He made friends 
easily, and his mild, inoffensive manners retained them. 
He spent a week of one vacation in a family on the 
acquaintance of once having occupied adjacent pews in 
a church. His social propensities had more influence 
with him than professional reading and studies. He 
was one of the best of neighbors. One must be very 
unneighborly indeed not to live peaceably beside him. 

Mr. Pooler had little enter|)rise or desire to make 
haste in the pursuit of riches. He avoided speculative 
investments of his savings, but he deposited them in 
savings banks, which yielded small but sure returns. 
He did once, however, through much pursuasion, pur- 
chase a house. His fears of loss cost him many tears, 
but it proved an economical arrangement for a time, and 
a ready sale at last relieved him of his fears. 



154 OLD KESIDEXTS- IIISTOIUCAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



Deacon Pooler was a Chiistiaii (jcentleinaii. He 
early joined the Baptist cliiirch, and ever adorned his 
profession. He held the office of deacon for many years, 
and bore the title through his life. His enemies were 
few, and they only temporarily snch, while smarting 
under his faithful correction. His many pupils cherish 
his memory, and have only o-ood to sav of him. 

Few persons that have taught in the Lowell schools 
have left a more endurinir and favorable remembrance. 



IJ\ Hapgood Wriglit, His Life and Business 
Career, hy Benjamin Walker. 



The following sketch Ava.s prepared by the late Mr. 
Benjamin Walker, with the assistance of Mr. Wright, 
and was to have been presented by him to this Associa- 
tion, but before the time arrived Mr. Walker also had 
passed away, and in place of his delivering a sketch of 
Mr. W^risfht, a memorial in his honor was called for and 



given. 



Mr. Hapgood Wright was born in Concord, Mass., 
March 28, 1811. The first of his ancestors of whom he 
had any knowledge was Edward Wright, who resided in 
the Lordship of Castle Bromwich, Warwick Co., Eng- 
land, and who died previously to 1672. 

A grandson of his, also named Edward, with his 
wife Elizabeth, came to this country about 1650 and 
settled in Concord, Mass. Seven generations of his 
descendants have lived and died there, and several of 
the eighth generation are now residents of the town. 
Memorial stones have been erected to those who are 
buried there, and a sum of money sufficient for their 
perpetual care has been provided. 

Aaron Wright, the grandfather of Hapgood, was 
born in Concord, in 1755. He married Hepsibah Mer- 
riam, also of Concord, and they had five cliildren. 
Aaron was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. He was 
in the fight at Concord Bridge under Capt. David 
Brown, and followed the British to Charlestown. He 



156 Or.D EESIDEXTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



was in several other en^ao-ements duriny; the war. anion sc 
them Ticoncleroo'a. He died in 1840 at the aore of 95. 

Nathan Merriani Wright was the oldest child of 
Aaron and Hepsibah ( Merriam ) Wright, and was born 
in Concord, Nov, 19, 1782. He married Sally Tuttle of 
Acton, for his first wife, and they had eight children, of 
whom Hapgood was the second. N. M. Wright followed 
the occupation of his ancestors, and carried on a large 
farm on land including that where the State Reforma- 
tory now stands. He died June 3d, 1856, and is buried 
in Concord. 

Hapgood Wright's early life was passed on his 
father's farm. Here he worked until he was sixteen 
years old, attending the district school three months in 
the winter. He was also a pupil at the academy of the 
town for one year. 

It may be said in passing that Mr. Wright has 
always enjoyed the reputation of being a genial and 
pleasant man, and the characteristics of his boyhood 
later developed into that kind of energy and persistence 
which is essential to a successful business career. 

He was early trained to a constant attendance on 
religious worship, and went with his father and mother 
two miles to attend service at the Unitarian church in the 
town. He well remembered the square pews, with the 
seats turned up in prayer time, and the excessive cold 
in winter, when an attempt was made to heat the build- 
ing with a common stove. The Rev. Ezra Ripley, D. D., 
who lived at the Old Manse, since made famous by 
Hawthorne, was pastor of the church, and was regarded 
as a very eloquent preacher. 

In his spare moments, Hapgood acquired some 
knowledge of shoemaking by working in a shop owned 



HAFGOOD WRIGHT. 157 



and rented by his father. He became so proficient that 
he was afterwards engaged by another shoemaker in the 
centre of the town, where he worked for some time. 
At the age of sixteen he succeeded his first employer 
and commenced business on his own account, returning 
to his father's shop for that purpose. 

In 1828 Hapgood was sent to Lowell by his father, 
on business, and was so much pleased with the place 
that he at once decided, if possible, to make it his future 
home. 

He succeeded in finding employment in a shoe 
store, located near the Central Street station of the 
Boston and Maine R. R. After two years' service, the 
proprietor having failed, Mr. Wright assumed the busi- 
ness. This was in the spring of 1830. Lowell at that 
time contained between five and six thousand inhabitants. 

During the next ten years Mr. Wright laid the 
foundation for his future business career. In the mean- 
time (Jan. 1, 1835) he married Emeline Gates, and the 
union proved to be eminently happy. They were both 
ambitious and prudent, and determined to succeed. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wright celebrated each anniversary 
of their marriage by a family gathering, two of which 
were somewhat notable. One in Jan. 16, 1849, when 
his father, step-mother, and his seven brothers and sis- 
ters, with thirty of their descendants were present, and 
the other Jan. 2, 1860, when they celebrated their 
twenty-fifth anniversary, by departing from their usual 
custom and giving a large party. 

During a portion of these ten years, from 1830-40, 
he was in partnership with the late EHjali Mixer. 

Previous to 1838 specie payments were suspended, 
all banking business was carried on by states, and ex- 



158 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



change was subject to large discounts, causing many 
failures among merchants. In 1838 specie payments 
were resumed and business began steadily to improve. 
From 1810-50 money was in good demand and com- 
manded a high rate of interest — from G-24 per cent, 
annually. 

Proljably in consequence of overwork during these 
ten years Mr. Wright suffered not a little from ill health, 
rendering an annual vacation necessary. 

Mr. Wright was always prominent in matters per- 
taining to the Unitarian church and Sunday school. 

In 1844 he actively assisted in the formation of the 
society known as the Ministry-at-Large, of which he 
was Secretary for many years, collecting funds and 
otherwise devoting himself to the promotion of its 
interests. This organization at present owns a building 
unencumbered, and derives an income from a permanent 
fund, and also receives annual contributions from many 
friends. 

Regular Sunday services are held in its chapel on 
Middlesex Street, and food, clothing, and money are 
distributed to the worthy poor. This society ranks 
among the oldest and most useful of the many charita- 
ble institutions in the city. 

Mr. Wright always took a lively interest in the 
politics of the day. In his journal, from which most of 
these facts are taken, under date of July 4th, 1844, 
we find a memorandum that he attended a Whig: cele- 
bration in his native town of Concord. The speakers 
were Daniel Webster, Robert C. Winthrop, Rufus Choate, 
Abbott Lawrence, of New Emrland ; Horace Greeley of 
New York, and Mr. Berrien of Georgia, presenting an 
array of oratorical ability seldom heard at any single 



IIAPGOOD WRKiHT. 159 



gathering. On this occasion nearly ten thousand people 
were present. 

To show the high rate of interest paid in 1848, Mr. 
Wright speaks of loaning money at the rate of one and 
one-quarter per cent, monthly. In this connection he 
contrasts the difference between the shoe and the cotton 
business, stating that there were few importations to 
interfere with the one, while there was a large influx of 
the other from foreign countries, the quantity of cotton 
imported being about three times greater than that of 
previous years, under the tariff of 1842. 

In September, 1853, he purchased his present resi- 
dence, 70 Lawrence Street, which was built and formerly 
owned by Rev. Henry A. Miles, at that time pastor of 
the Unitarian church. 

Mr. Wright speaks of money in 1854 as command- 
ing a high rate of interest, bringing from nine to twelve 
per cent, per annum. Flour was worth from ten to 
eleven dollars a Ijarrel, and other articles of food were 
correspondingly high, making hard times for the labor- 
inii: man. 

On Thanksgiving day of this year Mr. Wright 
visited his old home in Concord, when he met his father, 
step-mother, and ail his brothers and sisters. 

This was the last time tliev were all too-ether. 

In 1869, Mr. Wright was elected alderman (J. P. 
Folsom being mayor) and was placed on two committees, 
those of Accounts and Claims, being chairman of the 
latter. He was a capable and efficient officer, and care- 
fully guarded, so far as was in his power, the interests 
of the city, notwithstanding the increased demands upon 
his time for his own private business. 

In 1872, Mr. Wright admitted Langlev H. Board- 



160 OLD EESIDEXTS' IIISTOUICAL ASSOCIATION. 

man into partnership, intending thereby to devote his 
own time to the wholesale department of the business, 
while Mr. Boardman assumed the manaw-ement of the 
retail trade. This partnership continued for five years, 
till 1877, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. 

On the 7th of August, ]877, after a wedded life of 
over fortv-two years, Mrs. Wrig-ht died at the ag^e of 65. 
A lady of unusual purity and refinement of character, 
with strong domestic attachments, and the liw-ht and 
sunshine of Mr. Wright's private life, the loss to him 
was fraught with the keenest sorrow. With similar 
tastes and a single purpose, the snapping of the silver 
cord which bound these two lives together proved the 
saddest and most afflictive event of Mr. Wright's career, 
and called for all the fortitude he could summon to bear 
up under this dispensation of God's will. 

With that mitigation of sorrow which time alone 
affords, Mr. Wright was again married, on the 15tli of 
July, 1879, to Sarah L. Gates, a younger sister of his 
first wife, with whom he lived happily for ten j^ears. 
Previous to her marriage, Miss Gates was for manv 
years a teacher in the public schools of Lowell. She 
was a mend^er of the First Baptist church, and also a 
teacher in tlie Sunday school. This estim ible lady died 
September 5th, 1889, after a lingering illness. 

After dissolving partnership with Mr. Boardman in 
1877, Mr. Wright continued business until October 31st, 
1886, when he retired, at the age of 75, having been in 
trade 56^ years. Probably no trader in Lowell has ever 
exceeded Mr. Wriu'ht in the leno;:th of his local business 
career, and certainly no one has evei- acquired and 
maintained a more enviable reputation than he for 
upright and honorable dealings. 



HAPGOOD WRIGHT. 161 



The public and other offices held by Mr. Wright 
have been as follows, viz. : In the Lowell city govern- 
ment he was a member of the common council in 
1845-46, and of the board of aldermen in 1856, 1869, 
1870, and 1875. He was appointed justice of the peace 
in 1855, bv Gov. Washburn, and his commission was 
renewed for several successive terms. In 1855 he was 
chosen a director in the Lowell Bank, and served for 
several years. Subsequently he became a director in 
the Prescott National Bank, and was elected its presi- 
dent in 1890, to fill the vacancy caused b}' the death of 
Hon. Daniel S. Richardson, which position he held at 
the time of his decease. He was one of the trustees 
and a vice-president of the Five Cent Savings Bank for 
many years. 

In 1861-62 Mr. Wright \vas a member of the state 
legislature. In 1881 Dartmouth College conferred upon 
him the honorary degree of A. M. 

That Mr. Wright was possessed of a public spirit, 
and that he did not live for himself alone, is shown by 
his public and private charities, which were fully com- 
mensurate with his pecuniary ability. In works of 
charity, as in the business of his life, he believed in 
doing the greatest possible good with the least amount 
of mone3^ He also believed in the words of Phillips 
Brooks that " No man has come to true o;reatness who 
has not felt in some degree that his life belonirs to his 
race, and that what God i:ives him, he gives him for 
mankind." Acting upon this sentiment Mr. Wright was 
prompted to make the gift of SI, 000 to the city of 
Lowell in 187G. This money was to be put on interest 
for fifty years, when all but the original $1,000 was to 
be expended by a two-thirds vote of the city govern- 



162 OLD KESIDEXTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



ment^for the benefit and improvement of the city or 
citizens of Lowell." The ^1,000 was to be again put 
on interest for fifty years, when the interest should l)e 
used, and so on indefinitely. 

After the reading of the resolution upon its accept- 
ance, remarks were made in its favor by several mem- 
bers, among others, Councilman Charles Cowley, who 
paid a special tribute to Mr. Wright for the liberal spirit 
manifested in making this donation. He also gave a 
clear and comprehensive sketch of Mr. Wright's public 
and private life during his residence of more than 
half a century in Lowell, and urged other of our promi- 
nent citizens to emulate so praiseworthy an example to 
aid in providing for the future wants and necessities of 
our city, and the less favored of its citizens to whom the 
hand of charity can ever be benevolently and properly 
extended. The resolution was unanimously adopted in 
both boards. 

On Saturday, the 12th of September, 1885, the 
town of Concord, Mass., celebrated the two hundred and 
fiftieth anniversary of its organization. There was a 
large gathering of people present, and Mr. Wright made 
this the occasion to present the town with one thousand 
dollars upon the same terms and conditions as accom- 
panied his previous gift to the City of Lowell. The town 
voted to accept the gift upon these conditions. 

The followino- letter shows another gift to the 

town of Concord : 

"Lowell, July 20tli, 1S9L 

To the Hon. E. R. Hoar, Pns. of the Trustees of the Free Public 
Library of the Town of Concord, Mass. : 

Dear Sir: I hereby give the siiin of three hundred dollars, 
in perpetual trust, for the following purpose, to wit : The Board of 



HAPGOOD A\ RIGHT. 163 



Trustees shall annually take and subscribe for the use of said 
Free Public Library, the Lowell Daily Courier, a newspaper now 
printed in Lowell, Mass., and have it properly bound each year, for 
the use of the Library, and pay for the same from the annual income 
of the gift. If all of the income should not be recjuired in payment 
of said Courier and binding the same, the balance may be used for 
the general benefit of the Library. If the Lowell Daily Courier 
should cease to be published, the directors of the Library shall take 
such other paper, published in Lowell, as they may choose. 

If by a vote of two-thirds of all the directors of the said 
Library they should be of the opinion that some other use of the 
income of the above gift would be of more advantage to said 
Library they may change it. 

It shall be called the Hapgood Wright Trust Fund for the 
benefit of the Concord, Mass., Free Public Library. 

Very truly yours, 

HAPGOOD WRIGHT." 

The gift was accepted on the above conditions. 
Mr. Wright has sent to the Concord Free Public Library 
numbers of the Lowell Daily Courier, properly bound, 
since 1843. These with the $300 given July 20th, 
1891, will make it a continuous gift from 1843 for all 
future time. 

Mr. Wrio;ht died at his home on Lawrence Street, 
Thursday, May 14th, 1896, at the age of 85 j^ears, after 
an illness of three months. He had outlived all of his 
brothers and sisters. He is survived by a daughter who 
is a niece of his wife, and who was adopted in infancy by 
Mr. and Mrs. Wright upon the death of her mother. She 
is now the wife of Mr. Henry J. Fay, and with her 
husband and young son has made her home with Mr. 
Wright for the last seven years of his life, and w^as a 
great solace and comfort to him in his declining years. 

In his will Mr. Wright made other public gifts which 
will not be operative during the life of his daughter. 



164 OLD KESIDEXTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



In closing I cannot but commend to the young men 
of our city the energy, perseverance, and industry dis- 
played in Mr. Hapgood Wright's career as a business 
man, and the high sense of honor, duty, and religious 
principles which have guided and governed his course of 
action through a long and well spent life. 



F. Annual Reyoi't hy Solon W. Stevens, Vice- 
President. 



Lowell, May 25th, 1897. 
Since the hist annual meeting of the Old Resi- 
dents' Historical Association, Mr. Benjamin Walker, 
who was at that time elected president of this organiza-, 
tion has l)een removed from our fellowship by death. 
On this account it becomes my duty as Vice-President 
to submit the customary annual report. 

Another year has passed during which our society 
in its quiet way has continued to perform its useful and 
unpretentious work. This beautiful Hall, conscrecrated 
primarily as a '^Memorial" of patriotic associations and 
heroic motives, has by permission of the authorities, be- 
come the permanent headquarters of our organization. 
It is believed that there is a peculiar fitness in this coin- 
cidence, for it is the object of our desire to collect, 
preserve, and rescue from oblivion such data and ma- 
terial relative to our citizenship and municipal growth 
as shall reflect new lustre upon this attractive "Memorial" 
of loyalty and sacrifice, in the hope that this building- 
may not only continue as a centre for the diffusion of 
knowledge, but become in time a shrine wherein patriots 
may reverently kneel, and good citizens gather fresh 
inspiration from the records of an enviable historic 
past. 

At the date of our last annual meeting the total 
of our membership was 172 ; during the year 3 have 



166 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

joined, while 13 have been remove! by death, thus 
making the number of our present membership, 162. 

The follovvinii: contributions have been added dur- 
ing the past year : — 

Buffalo Historical Association. Vol. 4. 

Smithsonian Report for 1894. 

Lowell Citv Documents for 1895. 

State Library Bulletin, issued b}" the University of 
the State of New York. Nos. 7 and 8. 

Manchester Historical Association. Vol. 1, part 1. 

Rhode Island Historical Association. Vol. 4, part 
2 ; vol. 4, part 4 ; vol. 5, part 1. 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 8, parts 1 and 2. 

Constitution and By-Ltiws of the Order of the 
Founders and Patriots of America. 

Annual Report of the Secretary of the Board of 
Regents of the University of California, 1896. 

Proceedin<)i:s of the 44th Annual Meetini;: of the 
State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 

Report of the President of Yale University for 1896. 

Catalogue of Yale University for 1896. 

Report of the Quarterly Meeting of the Chicago 
Historical Society, Jan. 19, 1897. 

Programme of Lowell Philharmonic Concert, at the 
Masons' Hall on Merrimack street, March 10th, 1832. 

The following interesting papers have been read 
before the Association by their respective authors dur- 
ing the year now brought to its close : — 

A biographical sketch of Mr. Cleveland J. Cheney, 
by Col. James Francis. 

A biographical sketch of Mr. Benjamin Walker, 
President of the Association, by Mr. Solon W. Stevens. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 167 



The Wamesit Purchcase, by Mr. Henry S. Perham. 
A sketch of the Hfe of Dea. Seth Pooler, by Mr. 
James S. Russell. 

The following members of our Association have 
died during the past year. Your attention is invited to 
a very brief fraternal notice of each of these : 

Mr. Henry Upton died at his home, No. 54 Branch 
street^ June 14th, 1896. His vocation was that of an 
upholsterer. He was 73 years of age at the time of his 
decease. He was a resident ot Lowell for many years, 
having previously lived in Andover, Massachusetts. He 
was widely known and was highly respected as an up- 
right, enterprising and honorable citizen. 

Mr. John Richards, who died on September 13th, 
1896, at the age of 88, was formerly a resident of Leeds, 
Maine. He came to this city in 1835, and entered the 
employ of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, 
where he remained for nearly lifty years. He held the 
position of overseer of the yard until a short time 
previous to his death, when the infirmities of age com- 
pelled him to retire from active duty. He was esteemed 
highly by all who knew him, and was regarded as faith- 
ful and conscientious in all his dealings. 

Mr. Philetus Burnham died at the age of 62 years 
at his home on East Merrimack street, October 22nd, 
1896, Mr. Burnham was born on Cutts Island in 8aco, 
Maine, in the August of 1834, and came to Lowell with 
his father's family in the March of 1841. When 17 
years old he engaged in services with the Massachusetts 
Mills, and remained with this corporation in various 
capacities until the time of his death. He was highly 
respected as a citizen and widely known for his zeal and 



168 OLD l^ESIDEXTS* HISTOEICAL ASSOCIATION. 



activity in religious labors. When a boy he attended 
the First Congregational church on Merrimack street. 
In 1845 the family were among those who withdrew 
from the mother church to form the Kirk-street Conirre- 
gational church, and in this organization Mr. Burnham 
remained a faithful and conscientious worker until the 
day of his death, beloved by all who knew^ him for his 
consistent christian life. 

Mr. William Seaver died November ord, 1896, at 
the age of 78 years, at his home on Howard street. He 
was one of the oldest eng-ineers in the state of Massa- 
chusetts. In 1845 he become an employee of the Boston 
and Lowell Railroad ('ompany, and soon became an 
engineer, which position he held until 1875. He after- 
wards had charge of the engines at the Hamilton Print 
Works until 1882. In early years he was employed in 
the service of the late Hon. James B. Francis in the 
surveys for the Massachusetts Mills and other manufac- 
turing companies. It is said that after the first tw^o 
years of his connection wdth the Railroad he kept an 
account of the number of miles he traveled and the 
names of the different engines, and in this account it is 
stated that in the last 28 years of his experience in this 
line of work he had traveled 691,185 miles on 52 differ- 
ent engines, Mr. Seaver was an estimable man, a good 
neighbor, and a highly respected citizen. 

Mr. Benjamin Walker died on the 11th of November, 
1896, at 74 vears of ao-e. A notice of this event was 
prepared and read before this Association at a previous 
meeting, which in due time w^ill appear in the published 
reports. 

Mr. Rufus Maxfield died at the age of 61 on the 
21st of November, 1896. He w^as a native of Nashua, 



ANNUAT. KEPOET. 1G9 



New Hampshire. From early lite he was connected with 
manufacturing interests. He was for many years a 
resident of Lowell, and greatly esteemed for his worth 
as an upright man and a good citizen. 

Mr. Josiah Butler died January 2Lst, 1897. He was 
born in Pelham, New Hampshire, in March, 1836, and at 
the time of his decease was about 60 vears of age. He 
came to this city in 1854, became a member of the 
Common Council in 1877, was known as Treasurer of 
the Shaw Stocking Company, and was identified with 
other important business interests. As a business man, 
and as a citizen, he won the sincere respect of his 
associates, as well as that of tlie community at large. 

Mr. Joseph A. Patten died at the age of 78 on the 
27th of January, 1897. He lived in Lowell since 1840, 
and for 27 years was an overseer in one of our manufac- 
turing corporatious. For the last few years of his life 
he lived in retirement, and his death was sincerely 
mourned as that of a genial, estimable man. 

Mr. Joseph S. (Jpton died February 18th, 1897. He 
was one of our oldest residents, having come to Lowell 
in 1838. He was 80 years old at the time of his decease. 
For upwards 40 years he was an overseer on the 
Lawrence corporation, and in his long and useful life he 
was highly esteemed. 

Mr. Edward Garner died at 70 years of age on the 
17th of March, 1897, He was born in England, and 
lived in this city for many years. He was well known 
as the overseer of the Hamilton Yard, and also highly 
respected as an industrious, honorable man. 

Mr. George W. Norris, wdio died on the 3rd of May, 
1897, at the age of 77 years, v/as born in Deerfield, New 
Hampshire, and came to Lowell in 1834. He was a man 



170 OLD EESIDENTS' IIISTOIUCAL ASSOCIATION. 



of sterlino; character, and his death was the occasion of 
sincere sorrow among the citizens of this comnmnity 
where he was widely known. 

Mr. Atkinson ('. Varnum was born in Dracut, Janu- 
ary 27th, 1828, and died on the 4th of May, 1897, at 69 
j^ears of age. He was a lineal descendant of Samuel 
Varnum, who came from Drawcutt, England, in 1663, 
and settled first in Ipswich, Mass., and afterwards re- 
moved to that part of Chelmsford lately known as 
Middlesex Village. He was a lawyer by profession, and 
prominently known as the author of the history of 
Dracut, published in the history of Middlesex County by 
Lewis & Co., and also as the writer of personal sketches 
of many leading men in Dracut, and was regarded as an 
authority on matters appertaining to the early history of 
this town. He was a very intelligent man, quiet, affable, 
of good judgment, fond of historical pursuits, loved and 
respected by all who knew him, and in death will be 
greatly missed by a large circle of friends. 

Mr. Allston Allen died at Framingham, May lOtli, 
1897, at the age of 86 years. While living in Lowell he 
was eno:a(»-ed in the business of placing investments, and 
w^as highly respected throughout the community. 

It will be observed that the lowest age limit herein 
recorded is 60. while the highest is 88, and that the 
average age of the 13 who have passed away during the 
last year is a small fraction over 73 years. 

Thus at unexpected moments our companions drop 
away. They are taken from our presence forever, but 
the niemoiy of a useful life w^ill long abide to comfort, 
to cheer, and to bless. It remains for us to work faith- 
fully along the lines in which we are placed, trying to do 
unto others as we would that others should do luito us; 



ANNUAL REPORT. 171 



aiming for the approbation of Him '-who doeth all things 
well," ambitious for the attainment of excellence in our 
distinctive callings, and hopeful that when the end shall 
come it may in truth be said of each and every one, he 
was a good citizen and an upright, capable man. 



VI. LowelVs Once - Popular JVeicspaper, Vox 
Fopuli—18JfJ--1^96, Its Rise, Progress 
and Decline, with Biograpfiical SketcTies 
of Those Who Were Prominently Con- 
nected with it Dinging its More Than 
Fifty-four Years of Life. By Z. E. Stone. 



The suspension of Vox Populi, a newspaper which 
had in Lowell ^-a local habitation and a name" for a 
period of more than fifty-four years, was deemed by one 
long directly and indirectly connected with it, an event 
that warranted the preparation of the following sketch 
of its origin and history and the accompanying brief 
biographies of those who were, in the course of its ex- 
istence, prominently connected with it. 

The publication of Vox Populi, to which was for a 
time added the supplementary title ''An Independent 
Paper Devoted to Local Literests," was begun May 25, 
1841. Its originator was James M. Stone, at that time, 
previously and subsequently, a clerk in certain mercan- 
tile stores on Central street. It was not undertaken as 
a business enterprise from which a livelihood was to be 
gained, and its originator did not relinquish any portion 
of the time which belonged to his employers to expend 
upon it. The editorial labor was performed during his 
leisure hours, and the mechanical part was done by con- 
tract with practical printers, who had nothing whatever 
to do with its management, editorially or otherwise. 

In 1868, in answer to inquiries as to its origin and 



vox POPUL[. 173 



the purpose for which the Vox was started, Mr. Stone 
wrote as follows : "From the very beginning of Lowell 
as a separate municipality there had been a good deal of 
feelino- — whether well-grounded or not — that the cor- 
porations, principally owned and controlled by non- 
residents, had managed the government of the town and 
city in the especial interest of the corporations and non- 
resident stockholders, to the undue neglect and detri- 
ment of the local welfare of the place and its inhabi- 
tants. And the idea upon which the Vox was started 
was to furnish an organ to give public utterance to this 
dissatisfaction, with a view of accomplishing a reform of 
the municipal government in particular and generally 
promoting the local, as distinguished from the corporate, 
or as it w^as thought, foreign interests of the city." 

Mr. Stone had obtained the assurance of several of 
his democratic friends who entertained views in harmony 
with his owm concerning "corporation influence" in the 
management of municipal affairs, that they w^ould share 
with him the cost of publishing the Vox for a period of 
six months, in case enough was not realized from sales 
and other sources to meet the necessary expenses. A 
dozen or more names of persons have been mentioned 
in former histories of the enterprise as belonging to this 
syndicate, not one-half of whom had anything whatever 
to do with it. Those who were pledged to financially 
assis't the scheme had no desire to be known as interested 
in it ; and it would be quite impossible at this late day 
to obtain a correct list of their names, were one desir- 
able. It is probable that no one was ever assessed to the 
extent of more than a few dollars, if indeed anything, 
to support Mr. Stone's scheme. There is not a word in 
the first number to indicate by whom it was conducted, 



174 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

published or printed. "Edited by the People" was the 
onlv information imparted to the public. 

The first number was certainly not very brilliant — 
not even interesting, looked upon fifty years and more 
later. It was neatly printed, upon new type, and con- 
tained no advertisements. Fully three-quarters of the 
original matter (there were several selections) was evi- 
dently written by the same pen — undoubtedly Mr. 
gtone's — and discussed in a dry, abstruse style "Man as 
he is," which was the title of the leading prose article; 
and something akin to the subject w^as the theme of the 
leading editorial, followed by a tirp.de against " the 
miserable hacks of partisan newspapers." No special 
charges or complaints were made against the corpora- 
tions ; nothing was said against the municipal manage- 
ment of the city, and no personalities were indulged in 
by the editor or his few correspondents. Altogether the 
Qrst number was a rather tame, prosy affair. Granville 
Parker, Benjamin F. Butler and Henry F. Durant, all of 
the legal profession, are said to have been from time to 
time contributors to the columns of the Vox; but there 
were no outward or inward signs to show that either one 
of the three trentlemen had written for the initial num- 
ber. Gen. Butler has been credited with being its 
editor, but he personally disclaimed ever having occu- 
pied that position. He said: "I wrote very considerably 
for it, on its first establishment, for some months, and 
the articles were printed editorially, but I had no interest 
in the paper and no control over it." The evidence 
that the other gentlemen were contributors is not con- 
clusive. The late Judge Josiah G. Abbott has been 
credited with having had an interest in establishing it ; 
and in referring to the matter he said — "Indeed if I 



vox rorrij. 175 



recollect rio'litly I had a ii'ood deal to do in the arrange- 
ment made for its starting ;" hnt as he was c>diting the 
Advertiser np to within a few days of the appearance of 
the first issne of the Vox, it is (piite probable that he 
was not so interested. His rneniorv certainlv failed him 
as to the originator of the paper ; and it is no wonder. 
It could hardly be expected that the 'diark-back" of a 
man whose mind had been enu'rossed for more than lialf 
a century in the discussion of great legal problems and 
democratic politics would ret:iin the details of a business 
transaction of no great moment to the public. We 
believe, however, Judge Abbott was, ten or fifteen years 
later, employed as counsellor for the then editor and 
publisher of the paper, who was defendant in one or two 
libel suits which had been brought against him. (It may 
not be out of place here to add that Mr. Varney was 
convicted, in the court of common |)leas, February term, 
1852, of libelling Benjamin F. Butler, and oidered to 
pay $75.07.) The public was supposed to know abso- 
lutely nothing concerning Vox Populi — its editor, cor- 
respondents or printer — not made plain in its columns 
from week to week. There was no printing-office, no 
counting-room, no agent, to which it could be traced; it 
was sold at the news and periodical stores and by boys 
on the streets. But within a year there was no attempt 
at concealment, and its location, etc., were as well-known 
as that of any newspaper in the city at the time. 



The first printer of the Vox — that is, the first man 
to do the mechanical work — beyond question was 
Frederick Augustus Cheever (familiarly known among 
his intimate acquaintances as "'Gus Cheever"), a native 
of Lowell or Dracut — a good workman and as cleaidy 



176 OLD JJESIDEXT.S- HISTORICAL ASSOCL^'JlUX. 



and iiice-lookino; vouno- man as ever ''worked at the 
case" (type-setting) in this city. He once informed the 
writer uf this fact and his statement has since been con- 
firmed by J. F. C. Hayes, who stated that he had the 
sLory which foHows from Mr. Varney himself. We are 
of the opinion that Mr. Hayes was never acquainted 
with Mr. Cheever. We have a statement from liim con- 
cerniny: this matter in his own handwritino;. Cheever, 
it seems, had been applied to by some one to do the 
printing of a contemplated weekly paper of certain di- 
mensions. It would be a fairly easy job for one com- 
positor. The young man had no office of his own — no 
type. But he procured of James M. Sliute, the agent of 
the Boston Type Foundry, sufficient body-type lo print 
a folio sheet, 21 by 14 inches, three columns to the page. 
In a room on the third floor of a building on Central 
street (the site now covered by Appleton Block), was the 
printing-office of Brown & Colby — George N. Bi-own and 
George J. L. Colby, relatives by marriage. To this 
office Cheever took his new type, and there the first 
volume (of six months) of Vox Populi was printed, the 
above-named firm renting a press and such other ma- 
terial as he required to do the work. All the printing 
offices in the city at that time were small and inexpen- 
sive compared with any one of the leading newspaper 
establishments in Lowell at the present time. 

Mr. Cheever's connection with the Vox closed sud- 
denly. He was not a capitalist, he had bought his type 
on time, expecting to be able to pay for it before the ex- 
piration of six months, but was unable to do so. Mr. 
Shute came for his monev ; Mr. Cheever not having it, 
concluded not to see his creditor. He skipped ; Mr. 
Shute at once and without formality proceeded to make 



vox popi'Li. 177 



himself as nearly whole as possible. Meeting Samuel J. 
Yarney on the street he closed a bargain with him for 
the type, and Mr. Cheever was out of a job. This 
transaction took place at about the expiration of the six 
months fixed for the publication of the Vox. The issue 
for November 20th was the twenty-sixth number and 
contained Mr. Stone's valedictory (not over his own 
name, however), and the announcement that the pub- 
lication would be continued by other parties. It is 
evident also that Mr. Varney had bought, about this 
time, the printing-office of Messrs. Brown & Colby (or it 
had been moved out of town or elsewhere), vacated the 
ba>ement in Wade's Block, and added his Methuen 
material to that which he had purchased ; for the next 
issue of Vox Populi (one week's publication only having 
been skipped to permit of the combination and change), 
dated December 4, 1841, contained the name of S. J. 
Yarney as publisher and editor, "over Bent & Bush's 
hat-store, corner of Central and Hurd streets." For the 
first time Vox Populi now had a sponsor and an 
acknowledged home. 

The question may be asked — Who bargained with 
Mr. Cheever to print the Vox ? We are sure no one 
can answer with proofs to sustain his statement. It is 
hardly probable that it wan Mr. Stone ; it may have been 
Mr. Yarney or Brown & Colby. Mr. Stone says he 
thinks Mr. Varney printed it the first six months : "I 
don't know but he printed it in some other office than 
his own, or caused it to be printed by some one else, but 
I only knew him in the matter." It is certain that Mr. 
Yarney had not, May 25, 1841, tlie material (which was 
new) with wdiich it was printed ; but he may have been 
at the bottom of the transaction which gave the job to 



178 OI.D RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCTATIOX. 



Mr. Cheever. If so, he was nominally the printer, but it 
does not appear anywhere, beyond a doubt, that he had 
anything to do with its mechanical, editorial or business 
management until it was turned over to hitn, without 
compensation, at the expiration of Mr. Stone's connec- 
tion with i'. Mr. Stone does not seem to have been 
clear in his mind in another matter. He says : " I think 
the paper was not sold, but delivered only to subscribers." 
It seems hardly probable that there was a list of sub- 
scribers for a paper concerning which there had been so 
much secrecy, and the idea does not agree with the 
recollection of others, who remember that it was hawked 
upon the streets and otherwise sold. 

Mr. Cheever died in Boston April 16, 1876, at the 
age of 60 years. As if to confirm our ideas on the sub- 
ject of the origin of the Vox, a Boston paper, in the an- 
nouncement of his death, said: " He made his first ven- 
ture as a newspaper man by starting the Vox Populi," 
which, as we have shown, was correct only in a small 
degree. 

The following, which came to our notice after the 
preceding had been prepared, shows that Mr. Varney 
had nothing to do in the matter of establishing the Vox. 
In the issue for November 23, 1849, announcing the be- 
ginning of the tenth volume, Mr. Varney says : 

"It is just eight years since the present editor and 
proprietor, with no capital other than a practical know- 
ledge of the printing business, assumed the responsibility 
of conducting this paper — then only a little seven-by- 
nine sheet — as a means of a livelihood. It had been 
started by an association of gentlemen of this city (of 
which the present publisher was Not a member) for six 
months ; and at the end of that time they found them- 



vox poruLT. 179 



selves somewhat involved in the expenses of publication 
— a perfectly natural consequence of 'too many fingers 
in the pie.' From that time to the present we have 
steadily pursued our labors," etc. It will be observed 
that Mr. Varney does not admit that he had any part 
whatever in the publication of the Vox until Mr. Stone 
withdrew from it ; and it is only through Mr. Stone's 
indirect statement that Mr. Varney is represented to 
have been connected with it, the first six months of its 
existence, as printer. 



The Vox had been issued once a week from May 
25th to November 20th, inclusive, and nothing of serious 
import had occurred to interrupt "the noiseless tenor" 
of its existence, with the exception perhaps of the late 
Gen. Butler's criticism of the address of Rev. Amos 
Blanchard at the consecration of the Lowell Cemetery. 
The annual municipal elections were then held on the 
first Monday of March ; consequently the Vox first ap- 
peared about three months after the election in 1841 
and the last number, under the management of its 
orig-inator, about three months before the election in 
1842. It is difficult, therefore, to estimate the amount 
of influence that "the voice of the people" had exerted 
in the politics of the city during the first six months of 
its existence. It is said that the campaign of 1842 was 
a lively one, that the Vox (then managed by Mr. 
Varney) had a warm hand in the contest and that the 
citizens' ticket was successful. It is a fact that none of 
the crentlemen elected for board of aldermen were 
known as " corporation men," nor was the mayor 
(Nathaniel Wright) identified w^ith the corporations 
(cotton manufactories), whose influence, it had been 



180 OLD IlESIDEXTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

said, was against "the local welfare of the place and its 
inhabitants," to counteract which the Vox was started. 
The board elected was as follows : Jefferson Bancroft, 
Rev. Nathaniel Thurston, Cyril French, William Living- 
ston, Ithamar A. Beard, John W. Graves. 



With the first issue of the Vox by Mr. Varney was 
begun its second volume, although it was only six 
months old. It was enlarged by the addition of a 
column to each page and the columns were proportion- 
ately increased in length. General advertisements also 
appeared in it, which was a new departure. The new 
type had evidently been set aside, for the paper had not 
the neat, clean typographical appearance which char- 
acterized the first six months. The type used in its 
general make-up was evidently a part of that which had 
been brought from Methuen. October 15, 1842, it was 
again slightly enlarged. 

January 20, 1843, Mr. Varnej^ sold his printing 
material to Rodney Emerson and John G. Pillsbury, two 
practical printers, with whom he bargained to print his 
newspaper for a certain period. The firm of Emerson 
& Pillsbury was short-lived, the former retiring and the 
latter continued the business alone. In November of the 
same year the office was removed to the building which 
had just been erected by our well-known fellow-citizen, 
James K. Fellows, on Central street, recenth^ occupied 
by ( ampbell & Hanscom, of the late Morning Times. 
From that location the \^ox was issued regularly till 
April 19, 1844, when Mr. Varney bought a small amount 
of second-hand printing-material, put it in the room 
which had formei'ly been occupied by the Advertiser, 
directly opposite, corner of Central and Middle streets. 



vox POPULI. 181 



The room was on the third floor and not large, but was 
well adapted for a printing-oflice. It was mnde to serve 
as editorial room, counting-room, composing-room, press- 
room, job printing room — all in one — with space to spare. 
This was for long years the home of Vox Populi. Here 
the enterprise grew, and waxed lusty and strong. At 
length it occupied, with the exception of a small room 
over the street entrance (which was rented to different 
parties in the course of years) the whole building above 
the first floor (attic included), in the meanwhile under- 
going enlargements, a change of proprietors, editors, etc., 
which we shall note as our story progresses. 



In June, 1845, Fisher A. Hildreth began the pub- 
lication of the Lowell Republican, a weekly democratic 
paper, Mr. Varney doing the printing for him, but as far 
as the public knew he had no other interest in it. At 
that time the Advertiser was owned and edited by H. E. 
and S. C. Baldwin, brothers, who had come to the city 
from Newport, N H. It was the opinion of certain out- 
side parties that the Republican was started with the 
purpose of bringing about a sale of the Advertiser 
rather than in response to any "long-felt want" for an- 
other democratic paper in the city. But be the fact as 
intimated or otherwise, in the course of a few months 
Messrs. Hildreth & Varney bought the Advertiser estab- 
lishment and at once began the management of their 
purchase, the former as editor and the latter as business 
manager. In the re-arm ngement of the business the new 
paper appeared compounded with the weekly edition of 
the tri-w^eekly Advertiser as "the Patriot and Republican." 
At the same time Mr. Varney's name was withdrawn 
from the Vox, which was left in charge of J. F. C. 



182 OLD EESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Hayes, a practical printer and forcible writer, whom he 
had known from his youth upwards. After less than 
one year, if we remember correctly, the firm of Hildreth 
& Varney was quietly dissolved. The latter withdrew 
and returned to the Vox, and Mr. Hildreth continued the 
management of the Advertiser and its double-named 
weekly edition. 

Mr. Varney thereafter conducted the Vox until 
early in 1850, when he disposed of it nominally, if not 
by a real sale, to John T. Chesley, having bought the 
Lowell Daily Courier establishment. In November and 
December, previously, it was several times announced in 
the Vox that the proprietor proposed to publish a daily ; 
and January 14, 1850, he began the publication of a 
small sheet called Daily Vox Populi, a penny paper, 
wdiich was published less than one month, its publication 
having been suspended on Mr. Varney's purchase of the 
Courier, February 2, 1850, of James Atkinson. It is 
undoubtedly a fact that the penny daily was begun with 
the hope of influencing and bringing about a sale of the 
Courier. There is probably not an issue of the Daily 
Vox Populi, of that time, in existence ; no file of it was 
preserved. 

This last change was a good one for Mr. Varney 5 
the Courier, with its extensive job-printing business, 
was a profitable property, and it gave prominence and a 
handsome income to its owner. In 1856 it was sold to 
the late Tappan Wentworth, but S. N. Merrill's name 
appeared as the publisher. The last-named gentleman 
had been a student in the purchaser's ofhce, if not his 
partner in the law business. 

During Mr. Chesley's administration of affairs the 
Vox had a good patronage and grew in favor with the 



vox POPTJLI. 183 



public. At the time of the great fair of the Midcile^^ex 
Mechanics' Association, in the autumn of 1851, he pub- 
lished a daily edition of his paper, with L. R. Streeter 
as editor ; but it was hardly a financial success. Several 
3'ears later he bought the subscription list and good-will 
of the Daily News (which some years previously had been 
commenced by Enoch Euiery, A. K. Keach and others), 
and for a few weeks published it, independent of the 
Vox ; but finally it w^as sold to Brown and Morey — 
Leonard Brown and George F. Morey — who united it 
with the Citizen, and the two papers, one in name as the 
Citizen and News, was continued for manj^ years. 

All the schemes of Mr. Chesley were not financially 
successful ; and, in 1856, again, and for the last time, 
Mr. Varney came into possession of the Vox, but be- 
cause of his recent disposal of the Courier to Mr. Went- 
worth, his name was not made public in connection with 
it ; instead was that of S. W. Huse & Co. Mr. Huse 
had been a clerk for Mr. Varney in the Courier office. 
No sale was then made to him and he put no money into 
the enterprise at that time. 

Mr. Varney's death in November, 1859, made 
another change necessary ; and January 1, 1860, the 
property was sold by his administrators — Isaac Place 
and Asa C. Clark — to Z. E. Stone and S. W. Huse, the 
firm name becoming Stone and Huse. The new firm 
soon had a fair business, but for a time it was somewhat 
crippled in consequence of the southern rebellion, as 
was every business enterprise in the North ; but instead 
of curtailing expenses the firm increased their plant. 
Mr. Wentworth, evidently tired of publishing the 
Courier at loss, urged it upon the new firm, which 
bought at almost their own price and terms. In 1860, 



184 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 

in April, Messrs. Stone & Huse took possession of the 
Courier and Journal (daily and weekly), printing ma- 
terial and good-will ; sold some of the type and presses 
and removed the rest into the enlarged quarters of the 
Vox and managed the combined plants for seven years. 
For a time the Courier was published on terms which 
did not cover the cost ()f the white paper upon which it 
was printed ; and then the subscription price was in- 
creased one dollar, or to its present terms. This was 
during the first or second year of the war. In 1867 the 
Courier and Journal were sold to George A. Marden and 
Edward T. Rowell and Stone & Huse did their printing 
for one year, when those gentlemen bought the old Ad- 
vertiser material (that paper having deceased during the 
war), withdrew and engaged in the printing business 
themselves. 

In 1869, at the suggestion of the writer, the firm 
began the publication of the Saturday Vox Populi. It 
was not intended to supersede the original Vox, which 
was issued on Wednesday (to accommodate those at a 
distance from Lowell, who received it by mail), although 
that was virtually the effect ; for the city readers gener- 
ally wanted the Saturday edition. The idea which 
prompted the enterprise was that a well-printed news- 
paper, for home and family, with local news faithfully 
and fully reported, up to the morning of publication, 
would be appreciated by the people of Lowell, and the 
result confirmed this belief ; the enterprise succeeded 
beyond the expectations of its originators. 

The late N. J. N. Bacheller, who had long been the 
foreman of the office, was admitted a partner in the firm 
in 1870, and the firm-name became Stone, Huse & Co. 
In 1874 the establishment was removed from the corner 



vox ropuLi. 185 



of Central and Middle streets, where it had been located 
for about thirty years, to a building then just erected by 
Mr. E. A. Smith on Central street, nearly opposite 
Jackson — present number 218. The next change oc- 
curred four years later, October, 1878, when the firm 
was dissolved and Messrs. Stone and Bacheller retired. 
They were succeeded by the late Hon. John A. Goodwin 
and the firm name became Hnse, Goodwin & Co., but we 
do not understand that there was a silent partner. 
During Mr. Goodwin's connection, as editor, both the 
editions of the Vox were somewhat enlarged, which in 
the end was probably not a profitable arrangement. 
Mr. Goodw^in's death occurred in September, 1884. Mr. 
John S. Colby succeeded him as editor. Eventually the 
interest of Mr. Goodwin was purchased by his associate, 
when the name and style of the firm became S. W. Huse 
& Co., and the public was led to infer that Harry V. 
Huse was his father's co-partner. The latter had general 
chargre of the business. 

As we have already stated, on the demise of Mr. 
Goodwin, the editorial chair was assigned to John S. 
Colby, who had been employed as an assistant in the 
editorial office for about twenty years. He held the 
position till 1891, when he withdrew to engage in the 
study of a profession. He in turn was succeeded by 
Harry V. Huse, who liad become familiar with the duties 
and responsibilities of the position during the years it 
was held by the last two gentlemen named. 

The next change of moment in the history of the 
concern was the discontinuance of the original (Wed- 
nesday edition) of Vox Populi, which occurred August 
31, 1892. Both issues of the Vox had lost in circulation 
and in advertising patronage, in consequence, partially 



186 OLD RESIDENTS- IIISTOKRAE ASSOlJATIOX. 



at least, of the competition of the many daily papers 
and the weekly issues being published at less rates. 

Mr. Huse died in November, 1894. '1 he business 
was continued under the old firm name bv his son, H. V. 
Huse, until March 30, 1895, when the announcement 
was made, in an editorial paragraph, that with that 
number the Saturday Vox Populi would cease to exist, 
but would be succeeded by a penny-daily bearing the 
name of the Lowell Daily Vox I'opuli. The new 
claimant for public favor appeared on Saturday after- 
noon, Anri! 6th — a folio sheet of medium size, with a 
large amount of reading-matter, but without any special 
features likely to give it an advantage over the other 
afternoon dailies. The result of the enterprise proved 
what many had declared was true : that there was no 
demand for it — that there was no room for another dail}' 
paper in this city of many dailies. On the 10th of July, 
1895, without a previous word or intimation — without 
even a parting remark — its publication M'as suspended. 
And Vox Populi, as a newspaper in Lowell, after a life 
of more than fifty-four years, "gave up the ghost," and 
it no longer exists, excepting in its somewhat imperfect 
files, which would now be well-bestowed if donated to 
the Old Residents' Historical Association or the City 
Library. By either body they would be put in proper 
condition and cared for, for the benefit of the public of 
today and of coming years. 

It is a coincidence not unworthy- of mention, per- 
haps, that during the six first months of the existence of 
Vox Populi the name of the editor, publisher, printer 
and place where published, Avere not announced and 
were supposed to be unknown to the public ; and during 
the three months of its life as a daily (we infer after an 



vox POPULi. 187 



examination of the issue for June 6th), the same state 
of things was repeated : there was announced neither 
editor, publisher, printer nor manager, nor was the 
street or number from which it emanated mentioned. 
The motives for withholding this information from the 
public, whatever they may have been, at dates so re- 
mote from each other, were of course not the same ; 
but it is a little singular, to say the least, that such un- 
usual omissions should have occurred. It was, however, 
if we remember correctly, at one time editorially an- 
nounced that a stock company, bearing the name of the 
Lowell Vox Populi Publishing Company, had been 
formed, to succeed the firm of S. W. Huse & Co., arid 
it was generally understood, on the street, that H. V. 
Huse was the manager of the business and also the 
managing editor of the Daily Vox Populi. 

The office and material of the establishment, intact, 
we should not neglect to mention, passed into the posses- 
sion of Messrs. Thompson & Hill — Aaron S. Thompson 
and Charles H. Hill — practical book and job printers, 
each widelv known in Lowell. 



There are comparatively but few people living in 
Lowell today who were of adult age during the six or 
eight first years of the existence of Vox Populi, and 
fewer still who remember its general appearance and its 
tone and character as a newspaper. Farther than to say 
that it always claimed to stand for the best interests of 
Lowell (though the correctness of that claim w\as not 
always conceded by leading, influential citizens), we 
have here no comments to make concernino; it. Eventu- 
ally the errors and follies which marred and marked its 
early years were discarded, and it took rank with the 



188 OLD HESIDENTy' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



best journals of the state, led in circulation ( perhaps 
also in inliuencing the public mind) the other local 
newspapers, and was a source of profit to its publishers. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 

In this connection a brief sketch of the lives of 
the gentlemen who were most conspicuous in the man- 
agement of Vox Populi, from its inception to its last 
issue, may not be without interest. It will also serve to 
preserve to some extent the memories of a number of 
men who had in their day and generation no small 
influence in moulding the public affairs of this city, 
during a period covering more than fifty consecutive 
years. The writer was personally acquainted, more or 
less intimately, with all the parties named in the fol- 
lowing sketches. 

James Monroe Stone, the originator of the Vox, 
was a native of Westford, Mass., and was born August 
13, 1817. He came to Lowell a bright, intelligent, 
active young man. Falling in wdth kindred spirits, he 
soon became interested in the politics of the day and 
in our local municipal affairs. The origin and purpose 
of Vox Populi is clearly set forth in a quotation we 
have already made from a letter by his hand. He was 
in polities a democrat ; and the policy of the democratic 
party of that time was against incorporated manufac- 
tories and some other corporations. For favoring the 
Boston and Concord Railroad, when it was contem- 
plated, we have been told, Isaac Hill, one of the ablest 
of the many able men New Hampshire has produced, 
was ignored by the leaders of his party and "read out" 



vox POPi'Li. 189 



of it, which was "the beginning of the end" of the 
reign of the old style democratic party of his state. 
Mr. Stone was a leader among the young men of his 
party in Lowell, and his ne^vspaper enterprise gave him 
special opportunities to oppose the corporation man- 
ao-ers, who were almost without exception staunch whigs. 
He favored shorter hours in the mills, and was a snicere 
labor-reformer at a very early day — before there were 
labor-reformers "for revenue only." He was a volumin- 
ous writer, as the columns of his paper show. Under a 
standing heading ("Corporations and Operatives") 
articles appeared in successive numbers of the Vox for 
three months. He was generous and self-sacrificing, or 
he would never have taken the risks he did to proclaim 
his personal opinions on themes which were not at all 
popular in this community at that time. His later 
venture, the Daily Morning Herald, which he began in 
1844, Wci.s undertaken as a means of gaining a livelihood, 
but he did not succeed with it, and in less than a year 
it was suspended. His office while publishing the 
Herald was on one-half of the third floor of the build- 
ing on Central, nearly opposite Market street, about all 
of which is now occupied by Robertson Bros., furniture 
dealers. Soon after discontinuing his newspaper he re- 
moved to Worcester and engaged in the publication of a 
weekly paper called The State Sentinel. Probably while 
so engaged he was appointed inspector ( Jnne 2, 1845) at 
the Boston Custom House, a position from which he was 
removed in December, 1849. He was publishing the 
Sentinel in 1846, after which we have no trace of him 
as interested in the newspaper business. While at the 
custom-house he probably disposed of his business in 
Worcester and located in Charlestown. We think he 



190 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



broke with the democratic party on the slavery question 
and joined "the free-soiiers," the most of whom c^me 
out from the whig party, to openly fight against the 
extension of slavery into the territories and the admis- 
sion of any more slave states into the Union. He be- 
came a leader in the new party which was soon strong 
in Massachusetts He was six times elected to the 
house of representatives from Charlestown and twice 
was chosen speaker of that body. For a number of 
years he was a power in the politics of Massachusetts, 
and was on the right side on all the great moral ques- 
tions of the times. Mr, Stone died December 19, 1880. 

Samuel Jameson Varney was a native of Rochester, 
N. H., and was born March 11, 1814. He was educated 
in the public schools of his native town, and while yet 
a youth he was sent to the adjoining town of Dover, 
apprenticed to the printing business in the Gazette 
office. One of his fellow-apprentices was J. F. C. 
Hayes (of whom we have already spoken), and they 
became fast friends and were much together in later 
years. After Mr. Varney located in Methuen he was 
married to a lady of his native town, as the following 
shows: "Married in Rochester, N. H., April — , 1837, 
Mr. S. Jameson Varney, publisher of the Methuen Falls 
Gazette, to Miss Mary Jane Place, of Rochester." This 
lady was a sister of Isaac Place, for many years a well- 
known and much-esteemed citizen of Lowell, 

January 2, 1835, Mr. Varney, then recently from 
Dover, bought the newspaper called The Iris, published 
at Methuen, and the printing office from which it was 
issued. The concern had been moved from Haverhill a 
year or two earlier. He abandoned the name of his 



vox POPULI. 191 



purchase and in its place began the publication . of the 
Methuen Falls Gazette, which he continued to publish 
until September 3, 1838, when it passed into the hands 
of True Worthy Hoitt. The issues to January 18, 1839, 
contained his (Hoitt's) name as publisher; but in the 
number for April 12th, following, Mr. Varney's name 
re-appeared in its place and Iloitt's no more. There is 
probably no complete file of the Gazette in existence. 
Between the dates last named (January 18th and April 
12th) the numbers are missing, and between those dates 
there was a fire in the Gazette office, concerning which 
we have not been able to obtain any details. Apparently 
it w^as not of much extent; for the issue for April 12tli 
was not very unlike, in general appearances, that for 
January 18th, previously. It is unquestionably a fact 
that the fire occurred while Hoitt was running the con- 
cern, and that after the accident Mr. Varney, who had 
been spending a few weeks in Ohio, returned and took 
the property into his own hands again, and, April 5th, 
resumed the publication of the Gazette. It is probable 
that that issue contained an account of the fire, but it is 
very doubtful if a number of it exists. In the one for 
April 12th occurs the foll()wing paragraph, undoubtedly 
from Mr. Varney's pen : '' Our old editorial-chair was 
pretty well used up at the time of the fire in and about 
our office. So we shall be obliged to perform our edi- 
torial duties in a standing position till some good friend 
brings us another chair." It is probable that the fire 
occurred the last of March or very first of April, 1839. 

Mr. Varney continued the publication of the 
Gazette till February 28, 1840, when he announced its 
suspension, lack of patronage being given as the reason. 
It was also announced that the Lowell Patriot or Lowell 



192 OLD KESIDEXTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Advertiser would be served to subscribers in its stead. 
In the month of March following Mr. Varney came to 
Lowell to reside. He undoubtedly obtained work in the 
Advertiser office ; Mr. J. J. Judkins, who was at work 
there at that time, remembers the fact that Mr. Varney 
was among the employees in the office. Later he kept 
on sale for a time newspapers, periodicals and stationery 
in one-half of a small store in Wyman's Exchange, on 
Central street, and did a little business in the line of 
card and small job printing, getting the work done at a 
near-by office, on which he realized a slight commission. 
At a still later date his printing material in Methuen 
was brought to Lowell and set up in the basement of 
Wade's block (so called at the time), corner of Central 
and Hurd streets, underneath the apothecary shop of 
the late Jacob Robbins. The building is now owned by 
Patrick Dempsey. The press was repaired by Mr. Var- 
ney's brother-in4aw, David Place, a machinist, who is 
still living and whose recollection of the event is quite 
distinct. The material was very small in quantity, old 
well-worn. The City Directory for 1840 does not con- 
tain Mr. Varney's name ; but in that for 1841 is the 
following : " Varney, Samuel J., printer ; house, High 
street square." At the time the Directory was published 
it is probable that he had not begun business in his little 
office, already described, in connection with his becom- 
ing the owner and editor of Vox Populi. 

Concerning Mr. Varney's management of the Vox 
we would "nothino; extenuate or set down au^^-ht in 
malice ;" but truth requires that we should say that for 
eight or ten years it was bad, indefensible ; it misrep- 
resented the man himself and was a reflection on the 
fair fame of our city. He indulged in personalities in 



vox I'orrLi. 193 



an exceedingly offensive way, and the worst scandals of 
the city were reported with a most objectionable fidel- 
ity. The bad features of the Vox for a time greatly 
overshadowed those that were commendable. Mr. Var- 
ney personally was a good citizen — honest in his deal- 
ings and entirely trustworthy. He was active, enter- 
prising and industrious always. He hated shams of all 
grades and greatly delighted in showing them up. For 
many years, after the distinguishing and unjournalistic 
features of the Vox had been abandoned, he rose in the 
estimation of his fellow-citizens and was active and in- 
fluential in local politics and in the general affairs of the 
city. As the publisher of the Courier he commanded a 
larger amount of business than had any of his predeces- 
sors, and in his hands the concern was a financial success. 
Mr. Varnev was a social, kind-hearted man : as a writer 
he was direct and incisive, rarely, however, giving his 
attention to anything other than topics of the day of a 
local character. His interest in the business of the city 
prompted certain of his friends to compliment him by 
naming one of the. western thoroughfares '' Varney 
street." Mr. Varney was twice elected a member of the 
common council and twice to the board of aldermen ; 
he was servimj; his second term as alderman when his 
death occurred, November 11, 1859. He was twice 
married, the second time to Miss Ruth Stuart, who was 
for many years a popular teacher in our public schools. 

Asa W. Farr was never more than a substitute in 
the editorial chair — twice or more so serving for two or 
three weeks at a time, when the editor proper was out 
of the citv. We think he was a native of Vermont and 
had learned the printing business before coming to 



194 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Lowell. Somewhat late in life he resolved to study law 
and entered the office of Benj. F. Butler for that pur- 
pose ; in after years he may have been, for a brief time, 
in partnership with that gentleman. For about ten 
years, from 1845, he practiced law without a partner. 
He went from Lowell to Wisconsin about the year 1856. 
He was once or more a member of the lemslature of 
that state. During the late rebellion he entered the 
army, and report has it that he was murdered by a band 
of Missouri guerillas. 

Benjamin F. Johnson more than once had control 
of the Vox, but he was never announced as the editor. 
He was for a long time a somewhat frequent and always 
acceptable contributor to its columns. On coming to 
Lowell from Nashua he went into the employ of the 
Boston and Lowell Railroad company. He wrote con- 
siderably for the Lowell Advertiser — for a time he had 
editorial charge of it ; and for a long series of years he 
Avas a paid contributor to the columns of the Country 
Gentleman, a most excellent weekly publication. Pre- 
vious to 1854, he went to Chicago,' 111., and entered the 
land-department of the Illinois Central Railroad com- 
pany, holding a responsible position. He bought con- 
siderable real estate at an early period in the central 
part of the state, which greatly increased in value on 
his hands. Mr. Johnson became well known as a schol- 
arly, studious gentleman. He was selected for private 
secretary by Gov. William H. Bissell of Illinois, and 
occupied tliat position from 1857 to '61, inclusive. Mr. 
Johnson was a native of Charlestown, Mass., and 
was born Nov. 22, 1817. He died in Champaign, 111., 
Feb. 21, 1894, where still resides his sister, Miss Hannah 
A. Johnson. 



vox POPULT. 195 



Jonathan Franklin Chesley Hayes, who, as shown 
in the preceding history, for a time was the sole mana- 
ger of Vox Populi establishment, was born in Dover, N. 
H., Augnst 7, 1812. His school-days were few and the 
opportunities for acquiring an education were of the 
most meagre character. When about ten years of age 
he went into the Dover Gazette office as errand-boy and 
carrier. During his apprenticeship he remembers that 
in the same office were employed Benjamin P. Shillaber, 
Samuel J. Varney and George E. Locke, among others. 
Shillaber became famjus as the author of Mrs. Partino-- 
ton's sayings, and Locke as a coniedian was widely 
known as " Yankee Locke." Mr. Hayes's first venture 
in business was as a member of the firm of Locke & 
Hayes (not George E. Locke) as the publishers of a 
weekly newspaper in Dover, named The Globe, which 
had a short life. One of his early ventures was on 
behalf of other parties. He purchased the materials 
and did the mechanical work for the White Mountain 
Aegis, a weekly newspaper, at Lancaster, N. H., which 
was eventually moved to Haverhill, N. H., and united 
with the paper there and published as the Whig and 
Aegis. But the concern never paid its backers, and 
finally came into Mr. Hayes's hands, who eventually 
sold it and went to Toledo, 0., to take an interest in the 
Toledo Blade ; but not long afterward he returned to 
New England, and in the course of time came to Lowell 
and went into the employ of Mr. Varney, as already 
narrated. 

After a residence here of a few years he went to 
that part of Methuen which afterward became Law- 
rence, at about the ver}^ beginning of that then-to-be 
important manufacturing city, and set up a job-printing 



196 OI.D KESIDENTS" HISTOTJTCAL ASSOCIAJ'IDN. 



office. October 10, 1846. he began the publication of 
the Merrimack Courier (the first newspaper in the town 
after Mr. Varney had suspended the Gazette), afterward 
changing the name to the Lawrence Courier. The first 
intention of the founders of the town was to call it 
Merrimack ; and in settling upon a name they had the 
same experience that did the incorporators of Lowell. 
Petitioners to the legislature for the incorporation of 
that town asked that it be named Merrimack, and a bill 
was reported and passed through most of its stages con- 
taining- that name, but at a late hour Merrimack was 
stricken out and Lowell substituted. The proprietor of 
the Chelmsford Phoenix had moved his office from Mid- 
dlesex Village and changed the name of his paper to 
Merrimack Journal, understanding that the name of the 
new town was to be Merrimack, and he continued it 
under that name for a vear or more when Lowell was 
put in its place. Thus was the experience in Lowell re- 
peated in Lawrence. In 1851 Mr. Hayes sold his plant 
and his other interests in Lawrence and went to Cleve- 
land, Ohio, where he remained about a quarter of a cen- 
tury. Having passed the age of active labor, some 
years ago he moved to Groveton. N. H., where he still 
resides. 

John Twombly Chesley was a native of Dover, N. 
H., and was born Feb. 28, 1817. In early life he learned 
the shoemakers' trade and that was his vocation for 
many years. He came here from Lynn about 1836. 
For a time he worked for Daniel Swan — a well-known 
shoe dealer, whose sons still continue in the business — 
on custom-work and he also received stock and orders 
from a Lynn manufacturer, to whom he returned the 



vox POPULi. 197 



completed goods. After a time he returned to Lynn 
and resided there several years, but finally came back 
to Lowell and in the course of time entered the employ 
of Mr. Varne}^, whose wife was his cousin, making him- 
self useful in the general work of the office. His pro- 
prietorship of the Vox is specially mentioned elsewhere. 
He was not a practical printer but exhibited an aptitude 
for the newspaper business and an activity which ought 
to have won success, 

While managing the Vox he became interested in 
the Lowell Museum, with Noah F. Gates, which was 
then in the building at the head of Central street, built 
in 1840 for the Freewill Baptist society, of which Rev. 
Nathaniel Thurston was the pastor. It stood directly 
opposite the head of Central street. The society became 
financially involved, and after a long struggle in the 
courts, the property went out of its hands and into those 
of B. F. Butler and F. A. Hildreth. The upper part 
was converted into a museum and theatre, the rest, 
above the stores, into offices. Friday afternoon, Octo- 
ber 1, 1853, the building and contents were badly 
injured by fire. At that time the Museum was owned 
by Mr. Hildreth and Mr. Chesley. Nearly all the con- 
tents of the Museum were ruined and were never 
restored, but the structure, after being repaired, con- 
tinued to l)e known, till 1882, as the Museum building. 
About two weeks later than the fire the friends of Mr. 
Chesley, in consideration of his loss, arranged to hold a 
grand military, firemen's and civic levee, the net pro- 
ceeds of which were to go to him. The affair was 
largely attended and in all respects successful, many of 
the best-known most influential citizens of Lowell at 
that time having its management in hand. We may 



198 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOC! ATIOX. 

properly add here that the Museum building was a 
second time damaged by fire. On the morning of Jan- 
uary 30, 1856, it received a worse scorching than at the 
first fire, a little more than three years previously ; but 
it was repaired and was occupied until 1882, Avhen the 
structure now standing upon its site and that of the lot 
next south of it, known as Hildreth block, was begun, 
and finished in 1883 or '84. Mr. Chesley was a genial, 
companionable man, well-posted in public affairs and 
widely-known in Lowell and vicinity. He was a charter 
member of Wamesit Lodii^e, Knio;hts of Pvthias, and 
also a member of Veritas Lodge of Odd Fellows. He 
died in this city November 6, 1872. 

Enoch Emery, who more than once guided the 
editorial pen of Vox Populi, introduced himself to its 
readers through a serial local story entitled " Norton," 
although he had written and published a number of 
short stories previous to the appearance of that more 
pretentious work. He was at the time a clerk at the 
Merrimac house, kept by his brother, Maj. Henry 
Emery. About the same time he wrote a farce, which 
was produced by a stock company then playing at the 
Museum. He was a member of the firm of Keach, 
Emery & Co., the originators (in 1851) of the Lowell 
Daily News. That enterprise was not successful, and 
after a year or two he withdrew from it, and later, alone, 
began the publication of the Daily Morning Herald, in 
the same building and same room occupied Ijy James M. 
Stone, who had attempted the establishment of a news- 
paper bearing the same name seven years previously. 
Mr. Emery's enterprise had a brief existence and it was 
his last experience in newspaper publishing in this city. 



vox POPULi. 199 



He left Lowell in 1854 and eventually located in Peoria, 
Illinois, and there entered upon the same calling with 
better results. He was one of the firm which published 
the Peoria Transcript, his position being that of editor. 

Mr. Emery in later years wrote a novel of about 
five hundred pages, which was published by J. P. Lip- 
pencott & Co., Philadelphia, in 1872. It was entitled 
" Myself — a Romance of New England Life." It is a 
very clever story. He also edited a " Compendium of 
Useful Information," which he intended to publish annu- 
ally, but we doubt if more than one number was issued. 
During the war* of the rebellion he held a government 
office — collector of internal revenue, we think. He was 
ever a rapid and tireless writer. 

Mr. Emery was a native of Canterbury, N. H., 
born August 31, 1822; deceased at Peoria, May 30, 
1881. 

Thomas D. Bradley, a native of England, was for 
some years in the employ of Mr. Chesley as an aman- 
uensis and editorial writer. He had a clear and com- 
prehensive style and was a most useful man in the office. 
For many, many years since leaving Lowell, he has been 
constantly in the employ of the Boston Daily Herald. 

Leander R. Streeter, in his time well known as 
^' Corporal Streeter," a native of Boston, had a brief 
experience on the Vox. He was in early life a portrait 
or miniature painter. Before coming to Lowell he had 
conducted newspapers in Richmond, Ya., and in Boston. 
He was a sprightly, ready writer. Previous to his brief 
connection with the Vox he was for some time the editor 



200 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTOEK'AL ASSOCIATION. 



of the Lowell Courier. He was a native of Boston and 
the son of a Universalist minister. 

Z. E. Stone (perhaps we should mention that he is 
not a relative of J. M. Stone, whose name has so often 
appeared in this paper) was at three different times, 
covering a period of more than twenty years, the con- 
ductor of the Vox. It is not thought advisable at this 
time and in this place to relate his experience in the 
newspaper and printing business in Lowell and else- 
where. Although now something of a '' last leaf on the 
tree," he is still in the field and may be found or heard 
from, at the office of the Morning Mail — his latest ven- 
ture, undertaken with others in 1879. 

Miss Harriot F. Curtis for a year or more did most 
of the editorial work on the Vox and had cliarge of the 
miscellaneous department. We know but little of her 
history ; she was a farmer's daughter and came to 
Lowell and worked for a time in one of the cotton mills ; 
at that time nearly all the operatives of both sexes were 
sons and daughters of New England farmers. Miss 
Curtis was one of the writers for the earliest copies of 
the Lowell Offering, '"the factory girls' magazine." 
When that publicatit)n became a regular monthly, her 
name appeared upon its covers as one of the editors, 
Miss Harriet Farley (now Mrs. Dunlevy of New York 
city) being senior editor. Miss Curtis was the author of 
a novel entitled " Kate in Search of a Husband," and 
quite a number of popular short stories. 

Stephen Warwick Huse was a native of Methuen, 
Mass.. and was born Februarv 20, 1829. He was the 



vox ropuLi. 201 



son of Dr. Stephen Huse, for many years a well-known 
physician in the northern portion of Essex county. He 
was educated in the public schools of the town ; and 
after quitting school spent some time in preparing for a 
professional life, but finally abandoned the proposition. 
When about twenty-five years of age he came to Lowell 
to take a situation in the ticket-office of the Lowell and 
Lawrence Railroad company, at the Middlesex street 
station. Later he accepted a situation as clerk in the 
Courier office, and still later went with Mr. Varney 
(whose eldest daughter he had married) to the Vox office, 
that property having for the third time passed into Mr. 
Varney's possession, as elsewliere related. His connec- 
tion with the Vox, and later the Courier, after the 
decease of Mr. Varney, need not be repeated. Mr. 
Huse had nothing to do with the editorial manao-ement 
of any of the newspapers, the firms in which he was a 
member were first and last interested ; his post was the 
counting-room, during all the years he was in the news- 
paper and printing business. He was never an aspirant 
for political preferment, state or municipal, and belonged 
to none of the social or benevolent orders excepting the 
Masonic, where he had attained the thirty-second grade. 
His position in business brought him in close contact 
with a great many of his fellow-citizens, by whom he 
was favorably regarded during his long residence in 
Lowell. He died November 21, 1894. 

Samuel A. McPhetres was of Scotch descent, born 
in Bowdoinham, Maine, in 1827. He did his first news- 
paper work, as a repoi'ter, on the American Citizen, 
beginning in 1854, but previous to that date he had 
undoubtedly contributed articles of a political character 



202 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



to all the other local papers of the city. When a youth 
he had learned cigar-making, and was for many years so 
employed after coming to this city. Previous to 1860 
he was for some time in charge of Vox Populi, and 
afterward, till 1869, was associate editor. Mr. McPhe- 
tres had a wonderful memory, especially in matters 
concerning this country, its public men and general and 
local politics. In the compilation and arrangement of 
statistics and ''juggling with figures" (we do not mean 
the use of them in an offensive sense) we doubt if he 
had an equal in our city. He was elected to the office 
of city clerk, succeeding the late John H. McAlvin. who 
had been chosen city treasurer. From early in 1869 to 
September 29, 1882, he admirably discharged the duties 
of his office. On the date last mentioned he died sud- 
denly, while out of town, on a brief vacation. The city 
government took part in the funeral rites and honored 
his memory as a faithful public official, by the adoption 
of appropriate resolutions. 

Nathaniel Jeremiah Norton Bacheller was a native 
of Fayette, Maine. He was born June 16, 1827, and 
spent a large part of his boyhood in his native town 
and ifi Farmington, in the adjoining county. At a 
proper age, he entered the office of the Maine Farmer, 
at Winthrop, as an apprentice to the printing business. 
A year or two later, the location of the paper having 
been changed and not preferring to go with it, he went 
to Kent's Hill and attended a term or two at the semi- 
nary at that place. He went from Kent's Hill to Saco, 
and found work in a printing office. Within the next 
three years he worked as journeyman printer in Saco, 
Biddeford, Portland and Machias, a portion of the time 



vox popuLi. 203 



having charge of the offices where he was employed. 
He came to Lowell in 1851, but did not remain long; 
and went from this city to Nashua, but there his resi- 
dence was not of lengthy duration. He went back to 
Saco and was in the book and stationery business, print- 
ing office attached, with a partner, a short time and 
then withdrew. In 1856 he came to Lowell, to reside 
permanently. He first engaged with Mr. Varney, at the 
Courier office, and eventually succeeded Joseph L. Rus- 
sell as foreman, the latter going to San Francisco, Cal., 
where he has since resided. Mr. Bacheller retained his 
position until the Courier establishment was purchased 
by Stone & Huse, as already related. A year or two 
later he became foreman for that firm and eventually 
was admitted a member of it and held his position until 
October, 1878, when it was by mutual consent dissolved. 

A few weeks later the firm of Stone, Bacheller & 
Livingston was formed and engaged in job printing on 
Jackson street. July 1, 1879, they began the publica- 
tion of the daily Morning Mail. The firpt, some three 
years later, was dissolved and a stock company took its 
place. Mr. Bacheller was elected manager and treas- 
urer, which position he held at the time of his death, 
which occurred February 17, 1895. 

He was one of the founders of the Bacheller, 
Dumas & Co. bindery (now Dumas & Co.) and was in- 
terested in it at the time of his demise. He was a vice- 
president and member of the board of trustees of the 
Washington Savings Bank. For a series of years he 
was an active member of the official board of St. Paul's 
Methodist Episcopal church. He was likewise a mem- 
ber of William North Lodge, F. A. M., and of Washing- 
ton Commandery of the Order of the Golden Cross, 



204 OLD RESIDEXTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Mr. Bacheller was a quiet, unassuming man; took 
but slight interest in politics and was but little before 
the public. He was industrious, painstaking, honest — 
widely know^n and respected. 

John Abbot Goodwin, who twice held the position 
of editor of the Vox, was born in Sterling, Mass., May 
21, 1824. He was for many years a successful teacher 
in the public schools. VVliere his journalistic career 
began we have not been informed. He was for a time 
superintendent of the public schools of Lawrence and 
also a while with Mr. Hayes in the management of the 
Lawrence Courier, and came to Lowell from that city in 
1854, to conduct the Lowell Courier, and was so em- 
ployed about one year. Later he had charge of the 
Citizen and News for a period of two years. He was 
elected to the legislature in 1857, '59, '60 and '61. The 
two last years he served the house as its speaker. He 
was two vears a member of the Lowell board of alder- 
men, and ten consecutive years served on the school 
committee. He was postmaster of Lowell for thirteen 
years — from April 12, 1861 — receiving his appointment 
from President Lincoln. His last editorial work was 
done while he was half-owner of the Vox, from 1878 to 
1884. Mr. Goodwin was a careful, painstaking writer 
and a fine extemporaneous speaker. He spent much 
time during the later years of his life in the preparation 
of a manuscript entitled " The Pilgrim Republic — a His- 
torical Review of the Colony of New Plymouth," which 
after his demise, was edited by his son, William Bradford 
Goodwin, and published by Ticknor & Company, Boston, 
in 1888. He was of Pilgrim stock himself and emi- 
nently qualified for the labor which he voluntarily 



vox popuLi. 205 



assumed. The book has taken high rank and is an 
authority on the subject it discusses. He was the 
brother of Mrs. Jane Austin, whose novels depicting 
continental life and character, published during the past 
twenty-five years, won much favor from the public. 
Mr. Goodwin died September 21, 1884, sincerely la- 
mented in Lowell and elsewhere in the commonwealth, 
being widely known and everywhere esteemed. His 
remains were interred in a cemetery in South Sudbury. 

John Stark Colby (a native of New Hampshire) 
succeeded Mr. Goodwin in the editorial chair of the Vox. 
He was educated in the public schools of Maine and left 
Fryeburg Academy fitted for college ; but deferring to 
the wishes of his father, who preferred that he should 
acquire a mechanical calling and later perhaps take a 
college course, in 1870 he entered the employ of Stone 
& Huse, to gain an insight into '-the art preservative of 
all arts." In good time he took the position with the 
above-named firm, of local reporter on the Vox, where 
he quickly proved his adaptability for newspaper work. 
After the change of proprietorship of the Vox (in 1878) 
he retained the same position until the death of Mr. 
Goodwin. He was then made editor-in-chief, a post 
which he held until he voluntarily relinquished it. 
Something more than seven years ago, Mr. Colby re- 
solved upon "a new departure" and entered the Theo- 
logical school at Andover, to prepare for the ministry. 
He made rapid strides at his studies and at the end of 
two years (the regular course is three) he had the per- 
mission of the authorities of the institution to graduate, 
having already been invited to the pastorate of the Con- 
gregational church at Marlborough, N. H. He accepted 
the position offered him and still remains in that town; 



206 Or.D RESIDENTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



and his career in his chosen work certainly thus far 
seems to have been attended with a complimentary de- 
gree of success. Mr. Colby is an accomplished scholar, 
still studious in the lines of his profession, and conver- 
sant with the most prominent ideas uppermost in the 
minds of the great thinkers of the day. He is a man of 
marked literary ability and wields " the pen of a ready 
writer." He wrote and read at the semi-centennial cel- 
ebration of the incorporation of the town of Lowell, 
March 1. 1876, a poem of decided merit ; and since that 
time he has^ been called upon, on special occasions in 
Lowell and elsewhere, for literary contributions, which 
have been received with complimentary expressions. 
Mr. Colby was for two years a member of the Lowell 
school committee, and he succeeded the late Daniel S. 
Richardson as a member of the board of trustees of the 
State Insane Asylum at Danvers, but resigned on leaving 
the state. 

Harry Varney Huse was generally recognized as the 
editor of the Vox, succeeding Mr. Colby, and the daily 
after the suspension of the weeklies. He is a grandson 
of the late Samuel J. Varney and was born in Lowell 
and educated in our public schools. He entered the 
office of the Vox Populi in 1878 — before he had attained 
his majority — and soon acquired a general knowledge of 
its several mechanical branches. A few years later he 
was given the position of foreman and eventually became 
the manager and principal editor. Mr. Huse has many 
influential friends in a circle of about his own age, and 
is well known to the business men of Lowell. He has 
been for some time past connected with an important 
industry in Boston, still, however, residing in this city. 

Lowell, November, 1896. 




REV. ROBERT COURT, D.D. 



VII, Rev. B.ohevt Court, D.B. By Charles Cow- 
ley, LL.B. Read June 21st, 1898. 



Those stalwart Ulstermen who settled on the Merri- 
mack river in New Hampshire in 1719, brouglit with 
them two important contributions to American civili- 
zation — Irish potatoes and Scotch Presbyterianisni, — 
neither of Avhicli had previously been known in New 
England. By them came the establishment of Presby- 
terian churches in Londonderry, Windham and various 
other towms, and the settlement in many places of fami- 
lies who preferred Presbyterian to Congregational forms. 
It was probably such preferences in yome, combined with 
more mercenary motives in others, which, in 1819, led 
the Concjreo-ational church in that part of Dracut which 
has since been annexed to Lowell, to join the London- 
derry (now the Boston) Presbytery. By act of the Leg- 
islature, in 1820, thirty-one families, — perhaps two-thirds 
of all the families in East Chelmsford, — were transferred, 
for parochial purposes, to that church, now called the 
Pawtucket church. Six years later East Chelmsford was 
incorporated as the town of Lowell ; but the Pawtucket 
church remained Presbyterian until 1837, when it re- 
sumed its place in the Congregational denomination. 

In 1828 a colony from Renfrewshire, Scotland, set- 
tled in Lowell, and engaged in the manufacture of car- 
pets.* It included, of course, many sons and daughters 
of the Kirk of Scotland, and was reenforced from time 

* On this and other foreign colonies of Lowell see volume II of these Contributions' 
p. 171. 



208 OLD RESIDENTS* HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



to time by other immigrants. In later years Pres- 
byterian immii^rants from all the British North American 
provinces, particularly New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 
settled in Lowell. Hence came successive efforts to 
establish Presbyterian churches here. 

In 1851 the Associate Reformed Presbyterians, dis- 
senters from the Kirk of Scotland, gathered a church in 
Lowell, which, in 1857, became extinct in consequence of 
the industrial distress of that time. The pastor was the 
Key. Peter Gordon. 

During his pastorate here Peter married a widow 
with several small children and a farm in New York. 
His salary being too small and too precarious to warrant 
the bringing of his wife and her children to Lowell, 
Peter contented himself with occasional visits to her 
upon her farm ; and when nagged for teaching other 
men to live with their wives while neglecting that duty 
himself, he would reply that he couldn't afford to both 
preach and practice on his small salary. When visiting 
his wife Peter would leave Lowell upon a Monday, secure 
some one to supply his pulpit on the following Sunday, 
and return in person " fresh and fair for preaching " (as 
Mr. Beecher would have said) on the second Sunday. 
This method worked well for a time, but only for a time. 
Peter travelled by the Norwich line, and, in consequence 
of an accident, he once failed to return in season. The 
tongues of all the tittle-tattlers M'ere immediately let 
loose upon Peter, and his faithful boarding mistress re- 
ported to him all that they said. He at once resolved to 
resign, but kept his purpose to himself until the follow- 
ing Sunda}^ morning when, to the surprise of the tattlers, 
he preached his farewell sermon. " The words of the 
wise are as goads," and the words of Peter fell upon 




ELDER JOHN D. HUBBARD. 



REV. ROBERT COURT. D.D. 209 



burning ears as he rebuked the tittle-tattlers for their 
censures upon him. The text of that sermon was : 
Acts 12 : 18. " Now as soon as it was morning, there was 
no small stir amono; the soldiers, what was become of 
Peter." He died in Australia. 

In January, 1869, the United Presbyterians, succes- 
sors of the ancient Covenanters, gathered a church in 
Low^ell, to which the Rev. J. L. Robertson preached for 
some months ; but in May, the church resolved to unite 
with the great Presbyterian Church of the United States, 
and on June 23, 1869, the First Presbyterian church in 
Lowell was regularl}^ organized by a commission from 

the Presbytery of Londonderry, with thirty-one mem- 
bers. 

The Rev. John Brash was installed as the first pastor 
of this church, October 26, 1869 ; Mr. Robertson having 
declined a call. In 1870, Mr. i^rash resigned and on 
November 1st, of that year, the Rev. Alfred C. Roe was 
installed as pastor, but in the following May he resigned. 
The Rev. Soltan F. Calhoun was installed as pastor in 
October, 1871, and resigned September 20, 1873. He 
was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Court, the subject of 
this paper. But to complete the succession of pastors, 
it may here be stated that the Rev. James M. Craig, 
formerly pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Newport, 
Rhode Island, was installed as Dr. Court's successor, 

June 24, 1898, with every prospect of a successful pas- 
torate. 

Elder John D. Hubbard, who was one of Dr. Court's 
most stedfast friends during the whole period of his min- 
istry here, still retains his eldership. In the General 
Assembly recently held at Winona, Indiana, he sat as a 
delegate from the Boston Presbytery, of which he is one 
of the oldest elders. 



210 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTOEICAL ASSOCIATION. 



These outlines of local Presbyterian history suffice 
to show how Dr. Court happened to come to Lowell. 
But for the coming of the Ulstermen, early in the last 
century — but for the change of base of the Lowell Pres- 
byterians to the great Presbyterian Church of the United 
States — Dr. Court might never have been known in 
Lowell. 

Robert Court was born in Glasgow, Scotland, Febru- 
ary 13, 1829, and was the son of Joseph A. Court, a man 
poor in purse, but rich in spiritual gifts ; a man who, like 
Haroun Al Raschid, could thrive on " oatmeal and 
prayer." It was from him that Robert Court derived his 
special aptness to lead the devotions of a congregation. 

In 1858 Robert Court joined Dr. Gault's church in 
Suffolk Street, Glasgow, and thu« identified himself with 
the great Free Church movement, initiated by Dr. 
Chalmers in 1843. In March, 1860, he had a four-nights'" 
debate with Charles Bradlaugh, the infidel. The Glas- 
gow Sentinel said, " The Protestant community ought to 
feel well pleased that in Mr. Court they have a skilful 
and redoubtable champion of (Jhristianity." Mr. Brad- 
laugh's daughter says, " Mr. Court seems to have been 
unusually smart." * 

In June, 1860, Robert Court closed a " debate " of 
another kind ; he married, at her father's house in Kil- 
marnock, Margaret Gilchrist, who survived him less than 
three months. Shortly afterward he entered the LTniver- 
sity of Glasgow, where he took high rank as a student,, 
particularly in logic, rhetoric and moral philosophy. 
One of his teachers there was Sir William Thompson,^ 
now Lord Kelvin, whose visit to the United States and 
Canada, a few years ago, is well remembered. 

•Charles Bradlaiigli. His Life and Worlt. By his daughter, vol I. pp. 88-8'.). 



PvEV. ROBERT COURT, D.D. 211 



In October, 1863, when Henry Ward Beecher visited 
Glasgow, Robert Court was ardently pursuing his studies 
at the university. Both he and Mrs. Court attended the 
meeting whicli Beecher then addressed, and always spoke 
of Beecher's appeal as one of the greatest feats of ora- 
tory ever achieved. 

Not a woi-d was ihen uttered by Beecher on the 
subject of emigration ; Imt there was an undertone in his 
speech, audible to Robert Court though inaudible to the 
throng, in which the great preacher seemed to say, with 
Horace Greeley, " Go West, young man," which sounded 
in his ears long after the speech had ended, and the war 
which gave occasion for it had closed in peace. 

In 1864. when Mr. Court graduated at the Univer- 
sity of Glasgow, he was thirty-four years old ; but the 
period which he had passed in the greater university of 
the world, amply compensated him for being belated in 
securing such help as universities nfford. His prepara- 
tion for the ministry was further advanced by a course 
of study at the Free Church College in Glasgow, where 
he acquired much distinction. 

Shortly before the completion of the usual course 
of theological studies in that institution, in 1868, Mr. 
Court was persuaded to come to the United States. 
Professor George C. M. Douglas, the professor of Hebrew 
in the Free Church College, received letters from three 
different churches in the West, asking for a minister. In 
response to these letters he sent Mr. Court, telling him 
he could have his pick of the three churches. He 
chose the church in Malcom, Iowa. When he came to 
the United States, he came to stay, and set a wholesome 
example to other foreign-born Americans by making the 
statutory declaration of his intention to become a citizen. 



212 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTOEICAL ASSOCIATION. 



He was then ordained and installed pastor of the Presby- 
terian chnrch in Malcom, Iowa, where he labored with 
^ood success for five years. 

In 1873 he visited Massachusetts. At the suo-o-estion of 
the late E. L. Cardell, well remembered as an insurance 
agent in Lowell, who was a member of the church at 
Malcom, Mr. Court visited Lowell. He won the hearts 
of the local church at once. On December 7, 1873, 
he preached here for the first time, and ten days later 
received a unanimous call to the pastorate, which he 
accepted. His connection with the Malcom church had 
to be dissolved before his installation here ; hence that in- 
stallation was delayed for a time ; but he entered upon 
his work here at once. 

At the celebration of the Burns anniversary in Jan- 
uary, 1874, he made an address which the editor of the 
Courier described as " the most eloquent and appropri- 
ate" he had ever heard at a Burns festival. From that 
year until the year of his death, it was his delight to 
speak at the Burns festivals, elevating and enobling 
those occasions in a marvelous manner. Well did a 
thoughtful Scot exclaim since his death : " What will a 
Burns festival be without Robert Court? " 

A little later he addressed the Odd Fellows here for 
the first time, and the impression which he made upon 
them was as deep and lasting as that made upon the 
admirers of Burns. He was equally successful in his 
addresses to the Knights of Pythias. On May 7, 1874, 
he was duly installed and then commenced that pastorate 
in Lowell, which ended only with his death, September 
30, 1897. 

A few weeks previous to his coming to Lowell, the 
First Presbyterian church had purchased from the Eliot 



REV. ROBERT COURT, D.D. 213 



Congregational church the stone edifice on Appleton 
street which it has ever since occupied.* This fact 
brouo"ht Dr. Court at once into intimate relations with 
the Rev. John M. Greene, D.D., the learned and gifted 
pastor of the EHot church, which relations grew more 
and more intimate during the twenty-four years of Dr. 
Court's life in Lowell. 

There is no other man living, so capable of correctly 
appreciating the work of Dr. Court in Lowell, as the 
Rev. Dr. Greene. At a public meeting in Huntington 
Hall, only fiifteen days before Dr. Court's death, Dr. 
Greene paid a generous and affectionate tribute to his 
dying brother, who read it, amid death's gathering gloom, 
with love, gratitude and tears. 

I cannot do better than to insert that tribute here, 
summing up what Dr. Court had done for society, the 
church and the world : 

" For nearly twenty-four years he has, in a most 
unostentatious way, gone in and out before us, a friend 
of the poor, a bright light to dispel darkness, and a 
strong arm to battle for every righteous cause. Clear 
he has been in his own convictions of truth, and loyal to 
the church of which he had been almost the creator as 
well as the honored pastor ; yet he has been broad- 
minded and generous in his sympathies towards all. The 
city has been proud of him. Our churches have loved 
and revered him. Those who have known him best have 
admired him most. He has been our brilliant scholar, 
our sage and Nestor. He has come the nearest of any man 
it has been my good fortune to know, to being a walk- 



* For an account of this edifice, see the Semi-Centennial Volume of the Eliot- 
Church, edited by the Eev. John M. Greene, D. D. 



214 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCTATIOX. 



ing library, or what Sidney Smith, in a not very elegant 
phrase, called Lord Macaulay, ' a library in breeches.' 

" It is marvellous what treasures of knowledge and 
wisdom that head of his contains ; all, too, in an orderly 
and systematic way. He has read and digested every- 
thing that pertains to theology, philosophy, morals and 
general literature. As a conversationalist Coleridge was 
not his superior ; as an essayist his learning, wit and pol- 
ished diction reminds you. of Addison or Steele. The 
men are few who are his equals in an off-hand, eloquent, 
arcy address on public or festive occasions. His wit 
sparkles, but never stings. There is no gall or bile in it. 
His weekly sermons, preached to his congregation, are 
always fresh, sound and able, and not a whit behind, in 
Biblical scholarship and theologic lore, those that fall 
from ' the lips of the chief masters in Israel ' on this or 
the other side of the Atlantic. Of the many expositions 
of the Sunday school lesson I have never seen any that 
in scholarship and spiritual and practical helpfulness 
equalled those which he for fifteen years furnished for 
the Lowell Daily Courier. 

" But it especially concerns us as a city that Dr. 
Court has, without stint, and almost without pay, poured 
out his wealth of knowledge, for twenty-four years, into 
the minds and lives of the people who have dwelt here, 
making us glad and happy and intelligent. He has spent 
his money for books and educated himself at great cost, 
that he might be our unpaid teacher. There is no im- 
portant subject of a literary or moral or religious nature 
that has come before the people of this city, during the 
last twenty-four years, on which he has not written a 
wise and saving word. He has, during the j^ears he has 
been with us, written more for the press of this city than 



REV. ROBERT COURT, D.D. 215 



any other man, not excepting the editors of the newspa- 
pers. All this he has done besides preparing two or 
three sermons a week for his pulpit or lecture room. 
The leading editorials in our city newspapers have often 
€onie from his pen. Many articles, other than edito- 
tials, appeared without his signature. His name signed 
to an article ensured its being read by every intelligent 
man or woman whose eye caught a sight of it. 

" He has given much in the way of addresses, papers 
and readings, to the lodges, orders and fraternities in our 
■city, of some of which he is an honored member. This 
meeting is held under the joint auspices of these frater- 
nal organizations. 

" But this is not the time for extended or laudatory 
remarks about our eminent and beloved fellow-citizen 
^nd benefactor, Rev. Dr. Robert Court. It has been my 
good fortune, and I consider it one of the happiest inci- 
dents in my life, to know him intimately. He is a large- 
minded, large-hearted, public-spirited, noble man. He 
has been among us a tower of strength for all that is 
good. He has given his life for this city. 

" Besides what he has done for the public at large, 
he has been a most successful pastor of a church which 
has become large and influential through his able and 
abundant labors in it. He has set before us an exalted 
idea of a minister of Jesus Christ. With all his other 
studies he has studied his Bible most, and can read it 
•almost as easily in Hebrew and Greek as in English. 

'• It is eminently fitting that we, the recipients of 
his intellectual, moral and spiritual gifts, should assem- 
ble here to-night, not only to express our sympathy with 
him and his dear wife in their sickness, but to declare 
our admiration of him as a patriotic, self-sacrificing citi- 



216 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, 



zen, and our respect and esteem for him as a Christian 
man and a Gospel minister." 

When Phillips Brooks was elected Bishop of Massa- 
chusetts, the principal objection raised was that he 
seemed to regard the Protestant Episcopal Church as one 
of half a dozen different churches, all about equally 
good, and not as " the Church." The same objection 
might have been raised to Dr. Court. As Dr. Greene 
said : " He was a good Presbyterian," but there was 
nothing to prevent his acceptance of a call to a Congre- 
gational church, had he been without a parish when such 
a call came. On May 14, 1879, he officiated at the 
funeral of Mr. Augustus Mixer in St. Anne's church, and 
remarked when speaking of it, that had his lot been cast 
in the Episcopal church, he should probably have re- 
mained there ; though he had not the least sympathy 
with Sacerdotalism, or with those who " nightly pitch 
their evening tent a day's march nearer Rome." 

During his pastorate the Presbyterian Hymnal was 
introduced into the church and the International Sunday 
School Lessons into the Sunday school. The number of 
members of the church increased to two hundred and 
fifty, and that of the Sunday school to about the same 
numl)er. 

Dr. Court had an outer parish as well as an inner 
parish ; a large number of occasional hearers, who were 
attracted to his church by the vast and various learning 
with which his discourses were enriched. Few preachers 
took such pains as he in his preparations for the pulpit ; 
for, although his capacity for extemporary preaching was 
remarkable, he could seldom satisfy himself with that, 
however delighted his hearers might be therewith. The 



KEY. ROBERT COURT, D.D. 217 



labor which he put into some of his occasional discourses 
was prodigious. His sermons on such occasions or topics 
as the Quarto-Centenary of Martin Luther, John Calvin, 
John Knox, St. Patrick, (whom he classed as a Scotch 
evangelist raised up for the conversion of the Irish to 
Apostolical Christianity,) the Queen's Jubilee, the Dia- 
mond Jubilee, were good examples of his pulpit power. 
If any discourse of extraordinary merit were given by 
any friend of his, whether clergyman or layman, he 
would get it repeated in his church, if it was practicable 
to do so. Thus, when my discourse on William Tyndale 
was delivered before the New England Historic, Genea- 
logical Societ}^ in Boston, Dr. Court was the first clergy- 
man of any denomination to offer me the hospitality of 
his pulpit for a repetition of it. Now that his voice has 
been hushed in death, the recollection of his hospitality, 
quo ad hoc, is more pleasant than ever. 

In 1885 the University of Norwich distinguished 
itself by conferring upon him the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity, and never was an academic honor more worthily 
bestowed. 

When Dr. Court came to Lowell St. Anne's was the 
only church here that had a pastor's library; founded by 
the Rev. Theodore Edson, D.D. Dr. Court intended to 
give a part of his own collection of books to the First 
Presbyterian church. This purpose was not embodied in 
his will, because he expected to select the books himself, 
but death overtook him before he had done so. Mrs. 
Court concurred with him in this purpose, and the exec- 
utors of his will and her will, Elder John D. Hubbard 
and myself, intend to carry il into effect, the Rev. Dr. 
Greene and Rev. J. W. Hayley having made the select- 



218 OLD RESIDENTS" IIISTOIIICAL ASSOCIATiUA, 



ions, which, but for his death sooner than was expected, 
Dr. Court himself would have made. 

One feature of Dr. Court's library was a collection 
of books relating to Casuistry, particularly the casuistry 
of the Jesuits, which he much desired to have kept to- 
gether in some great library and added to as opportunity 
might allow. Largely through the efforts of the Rev. J. 
W. Hayley, the executors have sold these books to the 
Suffolk Congregational Association, which places them 
in the Congregational House on Beacon street, Boston, 
where they will be known as the Court Collection and 
added to from time to time, and accessible to all. Could 
Dr. Court have foreseen that this collection would thus 
find a permanent place in the heart of the city of Boston, 
we are sure that he would have been delighted at the 
prospect, 

I would add one or two remarks in connection with 
these books. 1. If the morality which some of them 
teach indicates a falsified conscience, it may be accounted 
for, at least in part, by the intolerance and tyranny of 
the times when they were written. 2. The false and 
base ethics of individual writers is not justly imputable 
to the Roman Catholic Church as a body. 3. Nor did 
such false teacliino;s orio-inate with the Societv of Jesus. 
On the contrary, they antedate the Reformation by 
more than a thousand years. " By the fourth century," 
Mosheim, in his Ecclesiastical History, says, " the mon- 
strous and calamitous error, that it was an act of virtue 
to deceive and lie where by that means the interests of 
the church might be promoted, had taken possession of 
the ecclesiastical world." In Leckv's book on the Influence 
of Rationalism, and in his History of European Morals, 
abundant illustrations will be found of the mendacity of 



REV. ROBERT COURT, D.D. 219 



the early and medio3val church, such as the forging of 
prophecies and the fabricating of evidence.* 

Since this paper was commenced, the ladies of the 
First Presbyterian Church have issued a very interesting 
pamphlet, In Memoriam, containing the sermon preached 
by Dr. Greene at Dr. Court's funeral, the addresses of 
other clergymen, the obituary notices of the press, etc. 
Nothing remains to be added to that wealth of eulogy in 
which the memory of Dr. Court and Mrs. Court will long 
survive ; and here I pause. My heart goes back to that 
chamber of death in which I often saw him during his 
last sickness, his wife lying sick in an adjoining room, 
both ready to put to sea on the voyage of eternity. To 
the inquiry how he was, he gave daily the same answer, 
*' I am dying." And yet there was no repining, " no 
moaning on the bar." The faith which he had preached 
to others sustained him abundantly in the final hour. 
He never thought of death as the end of his life. For 
him, death was but an event in life. He did not say 
" Good night," hoping in some brighter clime to bid us 
" Good morning." 

At the close of the reading of this paper Mrs. W. 
H. Pepin sang with thrilling effect Dr. Court's favorite 
Ballad, "My Ain Countrie," in the Lowland dialect, 
which she had learned from the Doctor himself, and 
which she had sung at hi^ funeral. The Rev. Dr. 
Greene, being called up by the president, spoke briefly 
of Dr. Court, whom he characterized as " the most bril- 
liant man, from a literary and scholastic point of view, 
that Lowell has ever had." 



* A catalogue of the •' Court Collection " will be found in the City Library of Low- 
ell, as well as in the Congregational House in Boston. Some of them are in English, 
some in French, but more in Latin, etc. 



VIII, John Eliot's Work at Waniesit* By 
Charles Cowley, LL.D. 



When Dean Stanley visited this country in 1878, 
and Phillips Brooks inquired what places he most desired 
to see, he replied, " The place where the Pilgrims landed, 
and the place where Eliot preached." Before he put to 
sea on his return voyage, the intelHgent curiosit}^ of 
the great dean was abundantly gratified. John Eliot 
preached in many places, and in some places many times. 
The beautiful Eliot Church marks one of these places, 
and is one of several memorial churches inscribed with 
his name and sacred to his memory. 

Prior to July, 1893, no record was known to exist of 
the time or place of EUot's birth. It was assumed that 
he was born at Nazing in the county of Essex, because 
his parents lived there at a later day.f But through the 
diligent inquiries of Dr. Ellsworth Eliot, one of John 
Eliot's descendants, of New York city, we now know that 
" the Apostle to the Indians " was baptized at Widford 
in the county of Hertford, in England, on the fifth day 
of August, 1604, probably not more than a week or ten 
days after his birth. The same parish register that con- 
tains this baptism, also contains the marriage of his par- 
ents, Bennett Eliot and Letteyc Aggar, October 30, 1598, 
as well as the baptism of his sister Sarah, and his broth- 

* The following pages contain the substance of remarks made in the Eliot Church, 
October 31, 1897, and also of remarks made before the Old Kesidents' Historical Associa- 
tion in Memorial Hall, December 2ist, 1897, and afterwards before the Passaconaway 
Tribe of Red Men. 

tSee Alfred Gilman on Eliot in Volume III, of these Contributions. 




CHARLES COWLEY, LL.D. 



JOHN ELTOT. 221 



ers, Philip and James. Bennett Eliot removed from 
Widford to Nazing, some six miles distant, about 1607, 
and died there in 1621. He was a thrifty farmer and 
had property in five different parishes. By his will he 
directed his executors to pay to his son John, then a 
student in Jesus College at Cambridge, the sum of eight 
pounds a year for eight years towards his maintenance. 
Considering that money was then worth at least ten 
times as much as it is now, this was a liberal allowance. 
Eliot had only to do as others did to secure prefer- 
ment under Bishop Laud, and to enjoy "the fat slumbers 
of the Church," (as Gibbon called them,) in the diocese 
of London. Benefices and bishoprics were often the 
rewards of such as could — 

" Crook the pregnant hinges of tlie kuee 
That thrift might follow fawning." 

But John Eliot could not do that. With a loftiness 
of soul which does him immortal honor, he deliberately 
turned his face away from the road to place and power, 
to follow the voice of conscience ; and so instead of hear- 
ing that he received preferment in the church, we next 
hear of him as a tutor in the school of Little Baddow 
near Chelmsford in the County of Essex, of which the 
Rev. Thomas Hooker-was master. The Rev. John Fiske, 
who afterwards became the first minister in Chelmsford, 
the mother town of Lowell, was also a school teacher in 
Chelmsford. How many of the settlers of the American 
Chelmsford came from its English namesake we know 
not, but it probably owes its name to the connection of 
Eliot, Fiske and Hooker with the English Chelmsford. 

Like nearly all the Puritans of that time, Eliot 
was a zealous member of the Church of England, believ- 
ing, so far as known, all the doctrines of the Apostles', 



222 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, and all of the Thirty- 
nine Articles, and desiring that the Church should con- 
tinue " as by law established," only seeking certain 
amendments to the Book of Common Prayer and certain 
changes in church government in the direction after- 
wards taken by the Presbyterians. 

Some have doubted whether Eliot was ordained in 
England ; but it seems to have been conceded that if 
ordained there at all, he was ordained by a bishop of the 
established church. As the fact is of some importance 
in the estimation of many Christian scholars, I will briefly 
sum up the evidence thereof. 

In Governor Winthrop's History, " Mr. Eliot, a min- 
ister," is mentioned as having arrived at Boston from 
England in the ship Lyon, November 3, 1831. Mrs. 
Winthrop, the governor's wife, (the same lady to whom 
ten years later the General Court made a grant of three 
thousand acres of land chiefly in what is now Lowell,) 
John Winthrop, the governor's son, and his wife, were 
fellow passengers with Eliot in the Lyon. During their 
long voyage across the Atlantic Eliot and the Winthrops 
doubtless became intimate friends. As the only minister 
on board a ship which had sixty passengers, and which 
probably had prayers every day, Eliot and the Winthrops 
would have much conversation, he would learn their his- 
tory, and they would learn his, even if they had been 
previously strangers to each other. 

No sooner had Eliot landed than he was called to 
supply the pulpit of the first church in Boston, Governor 
Winthrop's own church, whose pastor, the Rev. John 
Wilson, was then on a visit to his old home in Eno;land. 
Thus EHot and the governor became personal friends. 
Three months after he reached Boston, he went with the 




ELIOT CHURCH. LOWELL, MASS. 



JOHN ELIOT. 223 



governor to Medford, and visited the pond which has 
ever since been called Spot Pond. Having such relations 
with Eliot, I believe that Governor Winthrop made no 
mistake when he described John Eliot as beino: alreadv 
"a minister" when he arrived in the old Bay Colony. 

The next witness is the Rev. Cotton Mather. In 
the third volume of his '' Magnalia," published in 1702, 
Mather gives a long list of Massachusetts ministers who 
had been ordained in the Church of P^nuland. The list 
is reprinted with corrections in an appendix to Savage's 
edition of Winthrop's History, and Eliot's name is there. 
(The name of the Rev. John Fiske, the first minister in 
Chelmsford, is also there.) (>otton Mather, his parents, 
and also his grandparents, had been personal friends of 
Eliot ; and whatever mistakes he may have made relative 
to the names of later immigrants, Mather is thoroughly 
trustworthy as to Eliot. 

Again: the Rev. Daniel Neal, in his History of the 
Puritans, includes Eliot among the "-eminent divines" 
who had removed to New Eng;land after havimr been or- 
dained in old England. 

Again: if Eliot had never received episcopal ordina- 
tion, it is unlikely that the Society for the Propagation of 
the Gospel would have paid him a salary of fifty pounds 
a year for his work among the red men, without a 
murmur from any of the churchmen who supported it. 

On the other hand, it is but fair to state here that 
the Right Reverend Manuel Creighton,* Lord Bishop of 
London, at my request, endorsed by our Ambassador at 
the Court of London, has courteously caused an ex- 



* The same prelate to whose courtesy the Commonwealth is indebted for the origi- 
nal manuscript of Governor Bradford's History of Plymouth Colony, and whose portrait 
adorns the edition of that narrative recently printed by the Commonwealth. 



224 OLD RESIDEXrs- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



amination to be made of the Registry of his Diocese 
which included the County of Essex in which Eliot was 
domiciled ; and that no record of Eliot's ordination either 
as deacon or priest can be found; although the record of 
ordinations and of the subscriptions required preparatory 
to ordination seems to be complete during the time 
when Bishop Laud (aflerwards Archbishop of Canter- 
bury) presided over that Metropolitan See. 

But other facts demand consideration. Eliot gradua- 
ted in 1G22. He was then only eighteen years old ; and 
probably finished the course of theological study re- 
quired of candidates for the ministry of the Church of 
England, in 1626. Although by the law of the Church 
a man must be twenty-four before being ordained deacon 
and twenty-five before being ordained priest, that rule 
was sometimes relaxed in the case of precocious 
young men like Eliot. Bishop Montaigne w^ho held the 
Diocese of London from 1621 to 1627, was less exacting 
than Laud, who succeeded him in 1828.* Eliot's spiritual 
life, according to his own declaration, did not begin until 
he met Thomas Hooker at a later day, and we can dis- 
cover nothing to prevent his subscribing the articles and 
taking holy orders before Lnud crossed his path. 

It occurred to me that Eliot might have been or- 
dained by Bishop Buckeredge, of the Diocese of Ely? 
which includes Cambridsji-e. where Eliot was educated ' 
but upon inquiry it was ascertained that the record of 
ordinations in that diocese durinu: Eliot's time has lono; 
been lost. 

After one vear's service in Boston, duringr which the 
first church became much attached to him, Eliot fulfilled 

* While this bislioinic was vao:uit after the departure of Montaigne and before tlie 
coming of Laud, Eliot might have been ordained by the Archbishop of Canterbury or 
any bishop of that Province, designateil by hini. 



JOHN" ELIOT. 225 



a promise which he had made before leaving England 
and was ordained pastor of the first church in Roxbury. 
This proves nothing against his ordination in England, 
Eliot merely followed the custom of the Congregational 
Churches, which repudiated all ideas of priesthood. 
Among the lambs of Eliot's flock at Roxbury was the 
lady who became his wife and to whom he had been en- 
gaged in England. 

Eliot had been preparing himself for his work among 
the Indians long before he began that work at Wamesit, 
and his first overtures on the Gospel trumpet in their 
tongue were made in places nearer to his Roxbury 
home. It was in the year 1647, two hundred and fifty 
years ago, when Eliot first visited the great Indian ren- 
dezvous which this place then was. That year was signal- 
ized by several notable events — by the establishment of 
the first town school, by the Synod of Cambridge in 
Massachusetts and by the Westminster Assembly of 
Divines in Ensi'land. 

Simon Willard, of Concord, is said to have accom- 
panied Eliot on this visit, and perhaps other men of Con- 
cord and some of Woburn accompanied him. As no 
roads had yet been opened Eliot probably came on horse- 
back and followed the Indian trail. The only ford on 
the Concord above Lowell is that at North Billerica, 
where the river is now crossed by the bridge over which 
the electric, as well as the county road passes. Eliot and 
his companions may have forded the Concord there^ 
though it is not impossible that they forded it at Massic 
Falls. But if they came by way oi Concord, they would 
not be compelled to ford the river at all. Passacon- 
away is said to have fled at Eliot's coming. 



226 OLD EESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The sixteen years that had passed since Eliot left 
his native land had been signalized by great events; and 
the relations which then existed between old and new Ens:- 
land ^vere verv intimate. Standino- on the ruo^o-ed 
banks of the Merrimack, he could not fail to contrast the 
wigwams and canoes and their red-skinned occupants 
with the scenes in which his youth had been passed. 
Crossing the Atlantic mentally, he must have thought of 
the Long Parliament, which had then been sitting for 
seven eventful years, and which ceased not to make his- 
tory for eleven years more ; that Parliament which had 
already brought to the bar and to the block the tyran- 
ical Archbishop Laud, from whose intolerance as Bishop 
of London Eliot himself had suffered ; that Parliament 
which had also brought to the bar and to the block the 
tyranical Earl of Stratford ; which then held the King 
himself as a close prisoner; which continued to hold him 
as a prisoner until the sharp ministry of the axe sent 
him a poor wandering ghost to the land of shades. Some 
such scenes from Westminster Hall, some echoes from 
Westminster Abbey, where the famous Westminster As- 
semblv, was then sittintj;, some echoes from the battle- 
fields of the great Rebellion, must have filled his mind 
and mingled with the sounds of the impetuous river 
rushing onward to the sea. 

At the Synod of Cambridge in the spring of that 
year, Eliot had made known his plans for the civilization 
and Christianization of the Indians ; the Synod had ap- 
proved those plans, and the General Court had given him 
a gratuity of ten pounds in recognition of this Indian 
work. 

At the time of that first visit, the nearest English 
settlers were those of Concord, Woburn, Readincr and 



o 



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o 

CO 



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X 
m 



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m 
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00 




JOHN ELIOT. 227 



Haverhill, from twelve to fifteen miles distant. During 
the next forty years, Eliot made many visits to this 
frontier region, and probably once, if not more than 
once, travelled as far north as Amoskeag Falls (now 
Manchester, N. H.) 

In 1653, at Eliot's suggestion, Wamesit was set off 
by the General Court as an Indian reservation. Then or 
soon afterwards probably the log house was built on 
Meetinghouse Hill, where the beautiful Eliot Church now 
stands,* which was used for school purposes on six days 
in the week and for religious meetings on Sundays. This 
loo- meetino-house remained until about 1824. Josiah G. 
Abbott,! Oliver M. Whipple, Amos Brown and other "Old 
Residents," now no more, remembered it well, and there 
is one venerable gentleman still living, Mr. Sidney Davis, 
whose eighty-two years have all been spent in this place, 
who ako remembers that log meetinghouse, having been 
nine years old when it was demolished. It is said to 
have been one and a half stories in height, and probably 
had an apartment for the use of Eliot, called " the 
prophet's chamber," as the log meetinghouse at Natick is 
said to have had. 

Remembering the intolerance of those times, partic- 
ularly towards Baptists, Roman Catholics and Quakers, it 
is refreshing to note that at Christmas, 1650, Eliot enter- 
tained as his guest the Jesuit Father Gabriel Druillettes, 
who had been learning the language of the Indians of 
Maine and converting them to Catholicism, sychron- 
ously with Eliot's labors among the Indians of Massachu- 
setts. 



* See Dr. Greene's Semi-Centennial volume of the Eliot Church, pp. 297-301. 
t See Cowley's Memoir of Judge Abbott, pp. 5-6. 



228 OLD ItESIDEXTS" HISTOEICAL ASSOCIATION. 

It was well known to Eliot that the missionaries of 
the Society of Jesus had begun their labors among the 
Indians of Canada immediately after the settlement of 
Quebec in 1607, forty years before he first came to Wam- 
esit. The Indians of the St. Lawrence and those on the 
Merrimac belonged to the same confederacy, spoke the 
same tongue, and often exchanged visits. As early as 
1653, he found beads, crosses and crucifixes upon some 
of the squaws at Wamesit, which told more plainly than 
their words that they had been converted to the Roman 
Catholic Church. Had he been endowed w^ith the gift 
of prophecy, he might have foreseen the time that was 
coming, when all his ''praying towns" would disappear, 
and pretty much all his converts find a home in that 
Church. 

Wamesit was the fifth town of " praying Indians " 
founded by Eliot. There were fourteen such towns in 
all, of which he was in all but the name, the bishop, and 
no truer successor to the Apostles has ever lived. Ac- 
counts of these towns are accessible elsewhere,* and 
none will be attempted here. 

On the fifth day of May, 1674, Eliot and Gookin 
made one of their many journeys to VV^amesit, and visited 
the chief Wannalancet, at his own wigwam, which stood 
on the lot where the statelier -'wiorwam" of Mr. Fred- 
eric Ayer now stands near the Pawtucket Falls. There, 
in the evening of that day, Eliot preached to as many 
of the Indians as could be got together, on the parable 
of the marriage of the King's son. Matt, xxii : 1-14. 
Wannalancet being the oldest son of Passaconaway, the 
great sachem of the Pawtucket tribe, Eliot made a per- 

* Gookin, in Cowley's " Historical Sketch of the County of Middlesex." in Middle- 
sex County Manual. 



JOHN ELIOT. 229 



sonal application of the parable to him, and with good 
effect, for by that sermon Wannalancet was converted. 

Various memoirs of Eliot have been published, and 
nothing like a biography of him will be attempted to- 
nio^ht.* Writinn-s have been ascribed to him which he 
never wrote. Thus, Dr. Samuel A. Green has shown 
that the first tract relating to Eliot's missionary work, 
which the Massachusetts Historical Society had published 
as Eliot's, was not written by him, but by the Rev. John 
Wilson. I have examined Eliot's " Chriscian Common- 
wealth " which brought him nothing but persecution, 
and find nothing in it calling for censure. It was mani- 
festly suggested by his work among the Indians. Gen. 
Gookin says that, in 1651, " they applied to Mr. Eliot 
for a form of civil government ; and he advised them to 
adopt that which Jetliro proposed to Moses for the Israe- 
lites in the wilderness, Exodus, xviii, : 21. Accordingly, 
they chose one ruler of a hundred, two rulers of fifties, 
and ten rulers of tens."t This plan worked well among 
the Indians; but as a plan of government for England it 
was a Utopian dream. It shows, however, how com- 
pletely the minds of the Puritans were " soaked," so to 
speak, in Old Testament ideas. As a project for "a 
church without a bishop, a state without a king," it was 
used to Eliot's annoyance in the times of Charles the 
Second. 

What is called "King Phillip's War" was now 
approaching, and during that conflict Eliot's clients re- 
ceived most brutal treatment. Most of them were killed 
or scattered. In 1677, the survivors of them were gath- 



* Since these pages were put in type. I have learned that a Life of Eliot in Modern 
Greek was published in the island of Malta in 1831. 

t Gookin, quoted in Cowley's " Historical Sketch of the County of Middlesex." in 
the Middlesex County Manual, p. 28. 



230 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



ered in four towns. Wamesit was one of these, and if 
(as Wilkes Allen thought) no church existed here prior 
to that war, it seems probable that one was founded by 
the Indians soon afterwards ; for when the Rev. John M. 
Greene, D.D., became pastor of what is known as the 
Eliot Church in Lowell in 1870, he found, among older 
members, some who had seen the cups and plates which 
tradition said had been used by the Indian Church in 
Wamesit in the administration of the Communion. But 
all these towns were doomed to destruction. Nothing 
that Eliot and Gookin could do to save them, was omitted 
to be done ; but their fondest hopes were blasted; their 
best efforts utterly failed. 

In July, 1680, two Labadists, Jasper Bankers and 
Peter Sluyter, visited Boston, Cambridge and Roxbury, 
and had an interview with Eliot, whom they pronounce 
" the best of the ministers." 

When Eliot published his Indian Bible he presented 
a copy of it to his Alma Mater in Cambridge, with a re- 
quest that he might have her prayers, as she had his con- 
tinually. This Bible is still preserved at Jesus College. 
Such a gift from such a source was probably recognized 
by conferring upon Eliot the honor of a doctorate in 
divinity. In the passage already printed from Neal's 
History, he is called " Dr." Eliot. But such was Eliot's 
modesty and self-repression he would not accept any title 
except that of evangelist; and he probably declined the 
honor, well merited though it was. This was, perhaps, 
the beginning of that interchange of academic interna- 
tional courtesies which in our times has become frequent 
between British and American Universities. It ma}^ be 
regarded as a partial atonement for the tyranny of Laud, 
which had prevented Eliot from either preaching or 
teaching in the diocese of London. 




REV. JOHN M. GREENE, D.D. 



JOHN ELIOT. 231 



In 1686, Wannalancet and his tribe sold their Lands 
in this region to the English settlers, reserving only their 
rights of hunting and fishing. After passing through 
various vicissitudes and doing many acts of kindness to 
those who had injured, as well as to those who had assisted 
him, Wannalancet and other VVamesit Indians finally 
joined the St, Francis tribe at Sillery in Canada and 
ended their days with them. Eliot and Gookin must 
have deplored the necessity for this abandonment of 
Wamesit if there was such necessity ; for they probably 
foresaw that, henceforth, the red man would be known as 
the enemy, instead of being known as the friend of the 
Colonists. 

Eliot died May 21, 1690, at Roxbury, where his 
grave is still to be seen in the ancient burying ground. 
Three of his sons had gone to their graves before him. 
One son and one daughter survived him, and their 
descendants now number between two and three hundred 
souls. If pride of ancestry is ever laudable, it is surely 
laudable in them. Let us hope that the aroma of that 
sweet and saintly life which was thus associated with this 
place, may always remain with the Eliot Church. 

The discovery of the time and place of Eliot's birth 
has already been mentioned. It is well that this discov- 
ery was not made until 1893 ; for that discovery led 
to such an exchange of courtesies between citizens and 
churches in the two countries as Eliot would have re- 
joiced to see. Having made that discovery Dr. Ellsworth 
Eliot applied to the Rev. J. T. Lockwood, rector of Wid- 
ford, for permission to place a memorial window in the 
parish church. That permission was given with the 
utmost alacrity, and the chancel of the church was de- 
voted to that purpose. At a cost of a thousand dollars 



232 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

the Eliot Memorial Window was placed there and dedi- 
cated on the 204th anniversary of Ehot's death. 

On that day the successor of John Ehot in the pastor- 
ate of the first church in Roxbury, sent to the Ambassador 
of the United States at the Court of St. James the fol- 
lowing telegram, which was read by Mr. Bayard, accom- 
panied by appropriate remarks at the dedication : — 

"Boston, May 21, 1894. Bayard, Ambassador. First 
Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to Widford Church, 
greeting. We honor the memory of the Apostle and try 
to carry on his work. 

James De Normandie, Minister." 

Thus it came to pass that the ('hurch of England 
in the diocese of London, which Bishop Laud made too 
" cabinned, cribbed, confined" to retain Eliot at her 
altars or in her pulpits, was opened by Bishop Temple, now 
Archbishop of Canterbury, to receive into its chancel a 
beautiful Memorial Window, with the following; in- 
scription : — 

"To the glory of God, in pious remembrance of- 
John Eliot, B. A. Cantab, called the Apostle to the 
Indians, who was baptized in this church, August 
5, 1604, emigrated to America A.. D. 1631, and died at 
Roxbury, Massachusetts, May 21. 1690. This window 
was erected by his descendants, 1894. The righteous 
shall be held in everlasting remembrance." 

In his address on this occasion, the rector of Wid- 
ford declares that he and his parishioners are much grat- 
ified that it has fallen to their lot to comply with the 
wishes of John Eliot's descendants, and that they will 
continually have before their eyes a memorial of one 
who, in his life of singular blamelessness and sintjle- 
hearted devotion to the cause of Christ and humanity, 



233 JOIIX ELIOT. 



presents a rare example to all Chri'stians, by whatever 
name they are named, of that charity which is " the 
bond of perfectness."' 

Not since the days of the Apostles, has any man 
appeared, who lived a life marked by such high conse- 
cration to God and humanity, such '' sublime repression 
of himself," as John Eliot. Yet his life was embittered 
by opposition and persecution. Laud was the first, but 
by no means the last, who hindered him in his praise- 
worthy work. He had bitter opponents in this Colony, 
and it was his best efforts that aroused the bitterest op- 
position. Not one of the log meetinghouses which his 
Indian converts erected has been preserved. But since 
his death the loftiness of his motives has been apprecia- 
ted. Bishops of the church which was then too narrow 
for him, have spoken his praises. Monuments and me- 
morials have been erected to his honor in various places. 
The Eliot Church in Lowell is one ; the Eliot Memorial 
Window in the Widford Church is another. Doubtless 
others will yet appear. The words of Jesus are as true 
to-day as ever : '' Your fathers stoned this prophet ; but 
ye build his sepulchre." 



IS. TI/c Folks at the J\^eck (noiv Lowell.) in if 
Olden Time. Head before the Old' liesi- 
dents^ Historical Association, Lowell, Mass., 
December 21, 1897, by Henry S. Perham, 
Chelmsford. 



Ill a forniei- paper* 1 gave some account of the early 
settlers of Clielinsford, who located near the borders of 
the Indian reservation upon la^ d now included within the 
limits of the City of Lowell. Their homes were scat- 
tered along the Merrimack intei'vale and upon the easily 
cultivated plain about iMount Pleasant. This section in- 
cluded what is now Middlesex VillaL>:e and extendintr 
along up the river to ilie Stony Brook and as far south 
as the No. 2, or North Row, school house, came to be 
known as the North End. 

The Indians' land passed to an association of indi- 
viduals in Chelmsford in 1686, by what is known as the 
Wamesit Purchase ; it included practically the whole of 
original Lowell. The period embraced in this paper is 
from the opening up this tract to settlement up to the 
time of the revolution. 

The section from the North End eastward between 
the Merrimack and River Meadow brook was called the 
Great Neck in distinction from Concord River Neck, 
which lay l)etween the River Meadow brook and the 
Concord River. But the simple name Neck came to be 
more generally adopted. The name Wamesit also clung 
to this entire tract for some time. 

' The early settlers of that part of Chelmsford now Lowell. 



THE PX)LKS AT THP: NECK. 235 



• The people who occupied this -section performed 
their poHtical duties in Chelmsford and attended meet- 
incy there, althouo'h no formal act of annexation was 
passed until 1826.* 

This atep was brought about by the refusal of the 
General Court to seat the representative of Chelms- 
ford, Stephen Pierce, whose home was in Wamesit, 
on the ground of his not being a resident of Chelms- 
ford. 

Rev. Wilkes Allen, the historian of Chelmsford, 
states that '.' His [Stephen Pierce's] house, the cellar of 
which is now [1820] visible, was between Capt. Isaac 
Chamberlain's and Mr. Samuel Marshall's houses." t 
Chamberlain lived at what is now called the Jenness 
place on Chelmsford street, and Marshall at what is 
known as the Noah Spalding house on Parker street. 
Chelmsford street passes diagonally across the site of the 
old road between those two points. The house was near 
the corner of Forrest and Chelmsford streets. The place 
continued in the Pierce family for several generations. 
That spot has especial interest as the early home of Gen. 
Benjamin Pierce, the father of President Franklin Pierce. 
Stephen deeded to son Robert March 3, 1730, land 
-' within the now improved general field in Wamesit 
ajoining to Chelmsford." | Robert was the uncle of 
young Benjamin and furnished the latter a liome after 
the death of his father in 1764, and until the alarm guns 
upon April 19, 1775, called young Benjamin to the stern 
duties of a soldier. A school was kept in Robert's house in 
1755, and probably at other times before a schoolhouse 



See "The Wamesit Purchase." 
Allen's Chelmsford. P. 45 —note. 
: Benj. Parker papers. 



236 OLD KESIDENTS- lUSTOHlCAL ASSOCIATION. 



was built in this section. The first of the Pierce family 
who settled in Chelmsford was Stephen, a tailor. He 
was granted land at the center of the town in 1671, " a 

small parsill to sett a house upon, 20 rods south 

west side of beaver brook brido-e." The line of descent 
from him to Benjamin is ^Stephen Pierce, son of Thomas 
of Woburn, married Tabitha Parker dau. of Jacob Par- 
ker, Nov. 8, 1676. - Stephen m. Esther Fletcher, Jan. 5, 
1707, d. Sept. 9, 1749. Mknjamin b. Nov. 25, 1726, m. 
Elizabeth Merrill of Methuen, pub. Aug. 2, 1746 ; he d. 
June 16, 1764. ■* Benjamin baptised Dec. 12, 1756. 

Allen* states that " The first English settlements 
made on the Indian plantation were on the borders of 
Concord river, upon a plot of ground much resembling 
a heater, which gave rise to the name Concord River 
Neck." Here lived Solomon Keyes, (son of Solomon and 
Francis, b. June 24, 1665,) as early as 1714, t and his hardy 
son Solomon (b. May 11, 1701,) who later was one of 
the heroes of the famous Lovewell's fight. 

Among the original proprietors of the VVamesit 
Purchase, Benjamin Parker was the only one whose pos- 
sessions there have continued in the hands of his descend- 
ants to the present time. He was a son of Jacob and 
Sarah Parker, (b. July 1668). In 1732, March 21, he 
and wife Sarah deeded, "to sons Benjamin and Jona. lands 
and buildings in VVamesit Purchase" and other property. 1: 
This son Benjamin extended this Wamesit property by 
the purchase of adjoining lots. His brother Philip lived 
upon an adjoining farm. Perhaps they occupied a barn 
in common as the minister Kev. Ebenezer Bridge men- 



* p. 15. 

t Wamesit Proprietor's records. 

t Benj. Parker i)apers. 



THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 237 



tions in his diary: " was invited to a barn moving by 
Benjamin and Philip Parker." 

A barn moving in those times was a work performed 
bv the united efforts of the neighbors and their oxen, 
and the minister was invited whenever the people gath- 
ered for any laudable purpose. His diary frequently 
mentions attending barn and house raisings. At the 
raisino' of Oliver Barron's tavern at the center of the 
town, to take the place of one that had been burned, 
the 34th Psalm was sung. The liquors which were 
freely served at such occasions were frequently the cause 
of conduct which brought a sharp reproof from the 
parson. 

Benjamin Parker was commissioned by Governor 
Shirley, July 29, 1754, to be "Second Lieut, of the 
First Foot Company in Chelmsford, under the command 
of Capt. Ebenezer Parker." 

This interesting document is still preserved by the 
family of one of his descendants, Mr. Henry E. Parker, 
at the old homestead on Pine street where Lieut. Parker 
lived. Mr. Parker has many other manuscripts and 
relics of former days, some of which are of great his- 
toric value. 

The vear following the date of Lieutenant Parker's 
commission was one of active military operations in the 
Colonies. A supreme effort was made in an attempt to 
accomplish the reduction of Canada. A day of fasting 
and prayer was observed July 3, 1755. The people 
gathered at the meeting house and Parson Bridge 
preached to them from Psalms 102 : 13-17,* " Thou 
shalt arise & have mercy upon Zion for y^ Time to favour 
Her, yea y^ set time is Come &c." 



" Bridge's inss. sermons, vol. 23. 



238 OLD llESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCLVTION. 



This discourse is interesting as it gives expression to 
the political sentiments which prevailed at the time, and 
which prompted them to make the great sacrifices neces- 
sary in support of those perilous campaigns. He tells 
his people : — 

" Had it not bin for y** French who have settled Northward of 
us, and Extended Their settlements all along Westward & Even to 
y"^ Southward of us — These — Dupes To Arbitrary pow'" & Tyran- 
ny — blind adherers to the Doct^ of passive obedience & non resist- 
ance — base born miscreants. Nourished and bro' up, upon y*^ breasts 
Of y'' great Whore, y^ Moth'' of Harlots — Mortal Enemies To our 
liberties as English men & as christians — have all along envied our 
happiness & Taken advantage Of y^ darkness & Ignorance of y*^ 
poor heathen, the Indians — and set em upon y® most barbarous mur- 
ders ife devastations w*^^'' were in their pow' To perpetrate — And 
have not y*^ whole land Groaned often, on acco' of y"^ Wars w*^'' have 
prevailed w*'' em — have not Multitudes of particuF persons & fami- 
lies, mourned and Groaned on acco' of y^ bereavem'^ some times Of 
Y*^ heads, sometimes of y'' branches of y^ families &c. w'^'' These poor 
barbarous pple have bin y"" Instruments of w*=^ in all likely hood had 
bin in a great raeas'" prevented if it had not bin for French religion, 
French Malice & French policy — perhaps we had by this time bin 
more successful in our Missions among em To bring em To y*" Faith 
of Christ & his gosjtel, w*^'' w°'' have softened their minds, and dis- 
posed em To live in love & peace — if it had not bin y' y*" notions Of 
v'' papists, inculcated upon era, by P^rench Jesuits are Vastly more 
agreeable to y" Dark understandings of those unhappy Pagans, than 
y'' sublime Docts & maxims of xtianity, (Christianity) uncorrupted 
are — And To this source may be attributed y® great advantage y® 
French have over j*" Indians. 

" Be it so, or f"" w' quarter it will, The Indians are in y® Inter- 
est of & in subjection to y^ French — and These i. e y® P^'rench have 
demonstrated it. That y^ have laid schemes for To Overcome us & 
if possible to root us out — Our knowledge hereof occasions our 
Vigorous Efforts, In our warlike Enterprises in this day To resist 
em & if wp Can to bring y^ mischief y^' design'd us to fall down upon 
their own heads. Still Tho°- we are alarmed & our Nation Alarmed 
upon our Acco^ &c — yet That War sho^' Arise to us, and That we 



THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 239 



liave reason To go forth in (ilreat Armies one way tfc anotli' to defend 
ourselves in our just rights, it to remove Encroachments w''' are 
ah'eady made upon us. this is (^i-ievous — A it must be look'd upon 
as a Day of affliction — A day of fear an(i Calamity — A day &. 
Time calling aloud upon Every one to consid' of their ways & their 
•doings — To repent & return unto y*^ lord f"" whom we have de- 
parted --------- ought we not firmly to believe & To 

depend upon it that L (God) will ari'^e & have mercy upon Zion & 
fav'' her in y'" set time ----------- when there are such 

Vast preparations & armaments upon this Continent & yese (these) 

nothern seas as nev'' have bin known before _-__ 

We have heretofore called, & L (God) hath an^^w' — Wittness y*' 
remarkable & almost maraculous success in our Ex|)edition ag' Cape 
Breton — Wittness y"" remarkable Interposition of y*^ Divine prov. in 
y* scattering y*' French squadron und"" y" Com'^ of y'- Duke D'Anvil, 
upon our own Coasts, who were Design'd upon our ruin, but Tho'' 
nev"" followed or resisted by an English S(piadron, yet baffled, dis- 
persed, ruin'd ifc turned back ashamed — And shall we not be En- 
couraged In Faith & pray"" f"" y" alread}' favourable success granted 
ns — 

''Our forces f''"' England arrived !«afe to y*" southward, our own 
men remarkably spirited To Inlist & to offer ^n, selves to go in & upon 
y'' several Expeditions on foot one way & anoth' — A fine squadron 
of our own upon y*' heels of a french one upon our Coasts & already 
masters of then- ships, successs of our army at Nova Scotia, plenty 
at home, & scarcity of ^trovisions among y*" french — are not these 
all Encouraging symptoms, Of good success attending our Enterprises 
_ _ _ - we must not Trust to our own men, our numb'^our Strength 

or our skill — but in God & to him Sho'' we cry We may 

observe that y*" Spirit of y*' English Nation in y*^ past' day seems to 
be the ancient spirit — & both ministry &, pple seem to be united & 
not divided as hath bin too Common a Circumstance very favourable 
an omen (we hope) for Good " - 

"Preached 3 July 1755 Fast day on acco*^ of several Expedi- 
tions To drive y'^' French f"" their Encroachments." 

In the Nova Scotia expedition of that year which 
resulted in the removal of the Acadeans, were twenty- 



240 OLD EESIDEX'I'S- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



two Chelmsford men, fourteen of whom were with Col. 
Winslow at Grand Pre.* 

In the Massachusetts archieves are preserved the 
rolls of some of the soldiers who took part in the expe- 
dition against Crown Point, and Bridge's diary furnishes* 
some interestinsr details in re^-ard to their fate. He 

O O 

writes : " Jona Barron going off on an expedition to 
Crown Point is made a Lieut prayed with the soldiers at 
Lieut. Barron's." With Lieut. Barron were twelve 
Chelmsford men.f Thej^ took part in the battle of Lake 
George and from the losses sustained it is probable that 
they were in the hay long known as the " bloody morn- 
ing scout." The news of the battle was received in 
Chelmsford seven days after and at the same time the 
call for re-enforcements. 

" Se])! 15 A general muster of companies through the Prov- 
inces to raise men lo reinforce army at Crown Point. Spent morn- 
ing at Parkers with officers & this day the news came of the engage- 
ment between Gen Johnsons army & the French & Indians, in 
which Johnsons artny came off conquerors having taken the French 
General & killed 700 officers & men & taken and wounded many. 
The battle was on the 8 Sept instant. A signal mercy, though at 
the same time we are called to mourn the loss of divers brave offi- 
cers & Soldiers to the number of about PiO or 130." 

Soon rumors began to be received of casualities 
among tlie Chelmsford men, which were verified by more 
definite news, and the dutiful parson was constant in his 
ministrations to the afflicted families. The account can 
best be given in his own words. 

" Sept 25. Visited the wife of Jona Barron as I did yesterday 
towards night upon a flying report of her husband being killed in 

* Winslow's Journal. Mass. Hist. Collection. 
t Mass. Arcliivcs. Vol. ti4, p. 105. 



THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 241 



the battle ag't the enemy on the way to Crown Point."' 20 "Vis- 
ited Mrs Barron this morning upon the acct of her hearing more 
news of her husband being killed & discoursed with her" '-Prayed at 
Parkers with a company soldiei-s going off to Crown Point, Capt. 
Butterfield, of Dunstable." " "27 Visited Widow Parker upon a 
flying report of her son being killed in the fight under Gen Johnson, 
so upon the same acct visited wife of Jacob Parker." '• 30 Visited 
Mrs. Barron who this day is certified of the death of her husband 
in the late battle with our enemies in the way toward Crown Point, 
by an extract of a letter of Maj Nichols (to his wife) who also was 
wounded in the same engagement, I discoursed with her again & 
endeavored to comfort her " " Visited the wife of Jacob Parker 
upon [ ] that her husband was certainly [ ] in battle." 

" Oct 6 P. M. I visited widow Parker she has received a letter from 
her son Moses in the army whereby is certified to us the death of 
Lieut Barron, Jacob Parker & James Emery of this town, also 
visited the widow of Jacob Parker." 

Lieut. Jonathan Barron was a sou of Lieut. Jona. 
and Rebecca Barron. Jacob Parker was a sou of John 
and Rebecca. Emery was son of Zachariah Emery. 
The town record of deaths states : " Died in the Grate 
Battle at Lake George September 8"' 1755." 

Lieut. Benj. Parker died in 1771, and was buried 
from his home upon what is now Pine Street. 

One of the customs, of long standing at that time, 
was the giving of gloves at funerals. In the case of 
persons prominent in Church, state, or society, this cus- 
tom was often carried to great excess. Alice Morse 
Earle says* " one great expense of a funeral was the 
gloves. In some communities these were sent as an 
approved form of invitation to relatives and friends and 
dignitaries whose presence was desired." 

The Parkers followed the prevailing practice. 

* Customs of New England P. W^. 



242 OLD RESIDENTS- IIISTORKAE ASSOriATION. 



The bill for the o'love.'s aiid other moiirnino- articles, 



n 



reads as follows : * 



"Mr BENJ PAlUvEK to SAMSON STODDAI^D Dr 
1771 

May 23 — To 15 pr mens Gloves 

To 2 pr mens Black Ditto 

To 19 p' woms Ditto 

To o pr woms Black Ditto 

To 3 Black handkerchief 

To 3 Vails 

To 1 y'' Black Hibbond 

To 1 Black Fan 

To 3 yrds hat band Crape 

(ja M' William Feirce for the 

Fun' of Lieut Benj" Parker Late 

of Chelmsford Deceased." 

Mr. Stoddard was the merchant at the center of the 
town. The bill is written in an excellent hand — although 
by a. graduate of Harvard College. 

The manner in which a house ^vas prepared for a 
funeral is thus described by Mrs. Stowe in her charming 
story " Oldtown Folks." " It was a doctrine of those 
good old times, no less than of many in our present days, 
that a house invaded by death should be made as forlorn 
as hands could make it. It should be rendered as cold 
and stiff, as unnatural, as dead and corpse-like as possi- 
ble, by closed shutters, looking-glasses pinned up in 
white sheets, and the locking up and hiding out <.f sight 
of any pleasant little familiar object which w^ould be 
thought out of place in a sepulchre." 

The hour having arrived let us enter the dwelling 
thus prep I red for the occasion and pay our tribute of 
respect to the memory of the departed. 



* Benj. Parker papers. 



> 
7s 

m 

3D 

X 

o 

m 
CO 

H 
m 
>■ 
o 




THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 243 



In the best room are seated the family and near rel- 
atives, the Parkers and Blodgetts. In the other rooms 
wearing the funeral gloves provided for the occasion are 
'' Mr. Robert ?eirce, Mr. Stephen Peirce, Mr. Jacob How- 
ard and Wife, Mr Benja Butteriield and Wife, Mr Joseph 
Peirce and Wife, Mr. William Peirce and Wife, Silas 
Peirce and W ife, Joseph Warren, William Bowers, Dan- 
iel Keyes, Mis Elizabeth Clark, Wid Abagil Bates, Wid 
Martha Howard, Wid Susana Fletcher, Wid Sarah Fletch- 
er, Mis Lydda Bates, Mary Bowers, Lusy Fletcher, Sarah 
Fletcher, Rachel Howard, Thankful Peirce. For the 
Bairs (bearers) Capt Ebenezer Parker, Capt Epa Spauld- 
ing Esq, Capt Zacriah Richardson Left Jona Spaulding 
Left Joseph Moor, Mr. Robert Peirce."* The minister, 
Rev. Ebenezer Bridge, alights from his chaise and with 
staid and dignified bearing, enters the house of mourn- 
ing. He offers prayer and the services are concluded. 
The coffin is placed upon the bier and, followed by the 
procession, is borne over the long winding road to the 
burial ground at the centre of the town, four miles 
away.f The bell slowly tolling from the church tower 
from the time the procession comes in view. 

The inscription upon the grave stone is : 

Here lies the 

Body of Lieu' 

BENJAMIN PARKER 

who dej)arted thi 

Life May 23' 1771 

Aged 72 years 

8 months &> 

11 days 

* " The persons that are to Receive the Gloves." The spelling Is as appears in the 
original paper. 

t Where the bearers were old and the distance long young men were selected to act 
as under bearers. 



244 OLD KESIDEXTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The funeral sermon was preached at the meeting 
house, the Sabbath following the burial. This was 
preceded by a request from the family of the deceased, 
for the prayers of the congregation that their loss may 
be sanctified to them for their spiritual good. 

A favorite discourse of Parson Bridge for such occa- 
sions was from the text in Gen. v. 24 : ''And Enoch 
walked w^" God and he was not : for God took him." 
This was "• Preached Sab. after y^ D & funl^ of Henry 
Spaulding — octo. 6 — 1754" — and with some changes 
several times after, the last being Jan. 1, 1792, the Sab- 
bath after the death and funeral of Deacon Ephraim 
Spaulding. ^^t 83. 

Three physicians were paid for attendance upon 
Lieut. Parker.* 

" Di- Kittredge 39/ 
Ur Oliver Prescot 5 — 14 — 
Xeheraiah Abbot 40 /8 " 

The first named was a Tewksbury physician. (Dr. 
Benj. or Dr. Francis.) The last was of Chelmsford. 
He lived at the Center, in the house which stands at the 
corner of Acton street. Dr. Prescott was a more noted 
physician from Groton, perhaps called in consultation* 
" The limits of his practice were extended to a great 
distance on every side."t He was a brother of Col. Wm. 
Prescott of Bunker Hill fame, and himself an active 
patriot in the revolution, receiving the appointment of 
the second Major General of Militia in 1781. His long 
rides on horseback, to answer his many calls led him, it 
is said, to acquire the habit of sleeping in that position. 



* Probate Kecords. • 

t " Physicians of Groton." Dr. S. A. Green. 



THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 245 



If some of the mourning customs of those days 
occasioned heavy expense the undertaker's bills were cer- 
tainly not excessive. The cost of the coffin was 5 shill- 
ings and 4 pence, (0 — 5 — 4) paid to Moses Davis, who 
kept a tavern at what is now known as Davis' corner. 

The list of the personal effects left by Lieut. Parker 
remind us of the great changes that have taken place in 
dress and domestic economy. Many of the articles are 
now found onlv in orarrets, or antiquarian collections. 
Among them were a " blew coat & Tucket, leather 
breeches, shoe buckles, knee buckles, warming pan, brass 
skillets, trammels, pillion. Riddle, sword & belt, Camblet 
coat & Green jacket, silver buttons" and two wheels. 
The last named articles, to be sure, seem somewhat 
familiar to moderns. With those "wheels" the women 
of the household took their daily " spin " undisturbed 
by any fears of also taking a '• header." One was a 
wool and one a flax wheel. 

In the estate of the daughter Sarah, we find such 
articles as a " Ridingwood [sic] caps, rufties, ribbons^ 
necklace, gloves, fans, stays, side saddle & bridle and 
pillion." 

From which it seems that the young ladies of those 
days found means to gratify their feminine fancies as 
well as their modern sisters. 

Of the people whose names have been mentioned as 
the recipients of the funeral gloves, Mr. Robert Peirce 
was a. young man of 17, born April 13, 1754, son of 
Stephen and Betsey (Bowers) Peirce. Mr. Stephen 
Pierce lived at East Chelmsford. His house, since re- 
modeled, is now^ the residence of our respected citizen, 
Mr. William Manning. He ^born 1754) was a son of 
Oliver and grandson of Stephen and Esther. He married 



246 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATIOX. 



Hannah Marshall, July 30, 1778, was a soldier in the 
revolution, died April 16, 1826. Mr. Jacob Howard and 
wife were a middle-aged couple from Middlesex. He 
died March 26, 1796, aged 78. The name is in the rolls 
of soldiers in the revolution. The Butterfield home 
where Benjamin and his wife probably lived was upon 
Hale street, a few rods from Lincoln Square. William 
Pierce was a son of Robert and Mary, grandson of 
Stephen and Esther, born Oct. 29, 1735. His intention 
of marriage to Elizabeth Pierce was published Dec. 4, 
1760. His father deeded to him in 1758, shortly before 
William's marriage, " l-i of all my real estate in Chelms- 
ford " for £100.* 

Silas Peirce is accompanied by his young bride Lucy 
Spaulding, (m. March 26, 1771.) He will be referred to 
ao-ain. Joseph Warren was from the center of the town. 
He died March 18, 1792, aged 67. William Bowers was 
from Middlesex, He was a descendent of Jerathmel, 
who first settled upon the ancestral homestead on Wood 
street, now occupied by Joseph Bowers, a brother of 
City Engineer Bowers. The line from ^Jerathmel son of 
George (of Scituate, 1637) m. Elizabeth— died in Groton 
April 23. 1724. ^ Jonathan, b. April 13, 1674, m. Han- 
nah Barrett May 17, 1699, d. Feb. 12, 1744 or 5. ^Jon- 
athan, b. July 5, 1701, m. Mary Grimes, June 7, 1726, 
d. Nov. 1756. ^ William m. Hannah Kidder of Billerica, 
Jan. 1, 1761. ^Joseph, I). Dec. 31, 1780. ni. Rhoda But- 
terfield April 1, 1803, d. Jan. 15, 1859. ^ Sewall, b July 
10, 1810, m. Sylvia Fisher, Nov. 24, 1847, d. Dec. 23, 
1893. "Joseph and George. 

The location of the Keyes house has been men- 
tioned. Miss Elizabeth Clark, b. Feb. 28, 1725, was a 

*Ben.i. Parker papers. 



THE FOT^KS AT THE NECK. 247 



maiden lady with somewhat aristocratic connections. 
Her father Col. Jonas Clark kept the public house at the 
ferrv, since known as the Middlesex tavern. She was 
connected with the Hancocks who often visited here. 
Her aunt Elizabeth (dau<j:hter of of Rev. Thos.) married 
Rev. John Hancock of Lexington, and was the grand- 
mother of the patriot Governor John Hancock. Abigal 
Bates was probably the widow of Robert, whom Parson 
Bridge mentions among his parishioners whom he visited 
at the Neck. Widow Martha Howard was Martha Poor 
of Andover, before marriage to Benjamin Howard, Jan. 
12, 1748. She died April 27, 1793, age 79^^..* 

Sarah Fletcher was the widow of Henry who died 
June 1, 1764, and the mother of Henry {b. Jan. 17, 
1754, "> who was killed at White Plains, New York, Feb. 
3, 1780, while serving as a soldier in the revolution. He 
left two small children, Henry and Betsey. The latter, 
(b. April 19,1777,) married Johnson Davis, the father of 
Mr. Sidney Davis, a member of this association. 

The six bearers were all military men of mature 
years, and doubtless all had seen service in the wars. 
Capt. Ebenezer Parker commanded the ccanpany of which 
the deceased was an officer. Capt. Ephraiin Spanlding 
was a justice of the peace and deacon of the church. 
At the funeral of the wife of Lieut. Parker, (Ehzabeth, 
d. Dec. 19, 1765,) Deacon Spaulding officiated in place 
of the minister.! 

Captain Zachariah Richardson is a veteran of the 
wars, now past the age for military service. He died 
March 22, ]776, ac^ed 81. 

Lieut. Jona. SpauldingT was a tavern keeper at 

* Grave stone. 

t Bridge's Diary. 

}Or Jolin. I think Jona. the name intended. 



248 OLD RESIDENTS" HISTORICAL ASSOCLVHOX. 

the south part of the town, within the present limits of 
the town of Curlisle. He was an active business man.. 
His old account books which have been preserved afford 
a curious study of the times. His military commission 
bearing the autograph of Governor Pownal, 1757, is in 
the Adams Library, Chelmsford. He lived to the great 
age of 95, (b. 1705.) Lieut. Joseph Moor lived upon 
what is now Moor street, where some of his descendants 
still reside. The present occupant being the sixth gen- 
eration of the family upon the old homestead. Joseph 
Moor died July 5, 1775. Mr. Robert Pierce was a quar- 
master in the military. He was a widower of 63, his 
wife Mary (Landlee) having deceased ten years before, 
(d. June 5, 1761.) He was a son of Stephen and Esther, 
(b. Jan. 19, 1708, m. published June 17, 1731; died 
April 2, 1789). Joseph Peirce lived upon what is now 
the city farm. His house stood a few rods south of the 
Coburn houses on Chelmsford street. The old ro id 
passed between the Coburn and Peirce houses. He mar- 
ried Mary Peirce March 20, 1714. She was a daughter 
of Stephen and Esther, born Dec. 14, 1722. Pierce was 
a tailor and his services in that capacity were sought by 
people of quality. Among his customers was Oliver 
Fletcher, Esq., who lived at the center of the town. 
Squire Fletcher was a graduate of Harvard College and 
a man highly esteemed for '' piety and integrity." He 
attended to the legal affairs of the to\vn, and for individ- 
uals. When he attended court at Cambridge, or Concord, 
he went faultlessly attired. His account book mentions 
a number of garments made for him by Joseph Peirce. 
Here is a description of the materials for one of them : 



THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 249 



1756 " October 18 afores'' I paid for cloth for a coat <fcc. 
To paid M'' Cusliin for 3 yds ) 

& ^ of Drab broad cloth for a V 26 U 

Great Coat @ £ 8 p y'' is ) 

To p*^" Marshall for Cutting out the said Coat .10 
To paid for sowing silk for said Coat .... 7 6 
To paid for half an ounce of thread for thes'' Coat 2 
To paid for 2 Dozen of Buttons covered with hair 

for said Coat to Lawton 14 

To 2 Skains of silk Twist at 5/ each at same 

place for s'' Coat 
To ^ yard Shalloon for s'^ Coat at 

Lawtons at 28/ p is 14 

February 25, 1757 To making the s'' Great } 

Coat p'' Peirce i 1 15 0" * 

Squire Fletcher must have presented a striking 
appearance arrayed in his beaver hat, brown wig, and 
drab great coat with its two dozen of buttons covered 
with hair. And he apparently enjoyed pleasant relations 
with those before whom he appeared at Cambridge, for 
we find under date 

"1753 
May 17 Expenses to Court 
2 dollars £ 4—10—3 out of which I paid £ 1—12—0 
for Puch [punch] which I gave the Court after Dinner." 

The Pierces were a long-lived race. Of the children 
of Joseph, the eldest Silas outlived five wives, leaving 
the sixth a widow at the a^-e of 84. Joanna was cut off 
by an accident at 90. Sarah died at 98, and Thankful 
lived to reach her 100th year. 

For the benefit of such as are interested in a study 
of the effects of the use of alcohol upon longevity, it 
should be stated that the head of this remarkable family 



* Oliver Fletcher's Account Book. 



250 OLD EESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



was addicted to the intemperate indulgence in drink — we 
are not informed as to the brand he used. Sihis contin- 
ued to live at, the old homestead. Mr. Franklin Coburn 
describes it as a long rambling cottage, made so by ex- 
tensions added from time to time to accommodate the 
increasing tenants. He has pleasant recollections of the 
kindly old couple, Silas and his wife, and of visits to the 
cottage where from the chimney corner he could look up 
to the stars. The farm was purchased by the city for 
its present use of Joseph, a son of Silas. Sarah Pierce, 
(b. Dec. 30, 1759, daughter of Joseph and Mary,) has 
many descendants living in Chelmsford and Lowell by 
her marriasce to Amos Byam. She married second 
Oliver Parkhurst. 

Joanna Peirce, (b. March 24, 1769,) married James 
Marshall, a revolutionary soldier. She has a son, Rufus 
Marshall, now living in this city, at the age of 87, one of 
the very few living sons of revolutionary soldiers. 

Thankful, (b. Jan. 9, 1752, daughter of Joseph and 
Mary Pierce,) was the last name in the list of those who 
received the funeral gloves. She then was a sunny blue- 
eyed miss of nineteen summers. She married, about 
1773, Samson Walker. They removed to Temple, 
N. H., and later to Andover, Vt., where they passed the 
remainder of their days. He was a soldier in the revo- 
lution."^ 

The history of Andover, Vermont, states that Sam- 
son Walker was at the battle of Bunker Hill, one of five 
brothers, all holding commissions and all over six feet 
tall. They reared a family of nine children, the daugh- 
ters being noted for their beauty, two of whom lived to 
a great age. The following is a copy of the inscription 

* Certificate from War Department, Washington, D. C. 




THANKFUL (PIERCE) WAlKER AT 97. 



THE FOLKS AT THE NECK. 251 



upon her grave stone, in the old cemetery in a neglected 
but picturesque spot high up among tlie hills beside the 
old stage road in Andover. 

THANKFUL 

wife of 
Samson Walker 

DIED 

March 28, 1851 

M 99 y'fl 2 m's 

& 8 d's 

Great peace to those that loves 
God's laws and nothing shall 
offend them. 

I was introduced to a descendent of Thankful at a 
very early age. She was placed in the cradle with me 
when we were infants. I do not remember the impres- 
sion she made upon me at that time but I have a distinct 
recollection that at a later date I thought her beautiful — 
and to me she is so now. We still keep the old family 
cradle, and its latest occupant was our grandson of the 
sixth generation from pretty Thankful Pierce of 1771. 



Mr. C. W. Whidden,* 

Secretary of the Old Residents' Historical Association, 

My Dear Sir : — The accompanying papers, copied 
from the originals in the Chelmsford archives, seem tO' 
me to possess some interest to your association. The 
one relating to the school shows the enlightened spirit 
which prompted the enterprising founders of Lowell to 
furnish school accommodations for their rapidly increas- 
ing population without w^aiting for the action of the 
town. The others contain the names of the members 
of the first fire companies. 

Very respectfully, 

Henry S. Perham. 

Chelmsford, Jau. 24, 1898. 



* The following papers referred to in this letter were not read before the associa- 
tion but are printed both for general information and to preserve their historic value. 

C. W. Whidden, Sec'y. 



254 OLD RESIDENTS- HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

To THE Selectmen of the Toavn of Chelmsford 

GenV^ 

The increase of Population in the Eleventh School District 
has been so great for a year or two past, that the Children cannot 
possibly be accommodated in the School House belonging to said 
district. The Merrimack Manufact^' Company have in consequence 
erected a School House for the convenience of all children residing 
on their premises. Therefore we the undersigned request that an 
article maj' be inserted in the warrent for the Town meeting to be 
holden on the first Monday of April next to ascertain if the Inhabi- 
tants will appropriate the money paid by the Mer*^ Man^ Company 
■& persons in their employ for supporting the School established by 
them, and to have the district so divided as to effect the above 
purpose 

Chelmsford 23^' March 1825.— 

Kirk Boott Agent 
Paul Moouy 
Warren Colburn 
N Goodwin 
Allan Pollock 
George B. Pollock 
Hiram Thompson 
Henry Smith 
D. J. Moody 
Charles Nichols 

The paper containing the following was endorsed 
upon the back " Report of the Selectmen respecting 
School District No 11 — 1825" 

The subscribers to whom was referred the article in the the 
warrant for the last town meeting, respecting a a division of school 
district No. 11 having attend to the servic. respectfully submit the 
following Report. 

That said district be divided as follows, viz. beginning at Mer- 
rimack River at the northeasterly corner of the Kittridge farm, so 
called, thence running southerly to the bride over George's brook so 



HISTORICAL PAPEES. 255 



called on the road from Patucket Bridge to Concord River bridge, 
thence westerly on said road to the land of Luther Richardson, 
thence southerly on said Richardsons land and in the same course 
to the Patucket land four rods west of the house of Thomas Bagden 
and that the part of the town east of said line, and north of said 
canal be made a school district, and called district No. 13. 

Caleb Abbott 
jSTath Wright 
Alfheus Spaulding 

To THE Selectmen of the town of Chelmsford 

The Merrimack Manufacturing Company by iheir agent, repre- 
sent that they are proprietors f a Fire Engine in said Chelmsford, 
which they are desirous should be employed for the benefit of said 
town : they therefore request you to appoint a number of suitable 
persons for Engine-Men, agreeable to the law in such case made & 
provided. 

April 24"^ 1823. 

Kirk Boott 

Agent M. M. Co 

Appended to the paper containing the above is 
another giving the action of the selectmen acceding to 
the request. 

On the foregoing request, we have appointed the the following 
persons Engine Men to said Engine viz. Jonathan Burbank, Na- 
thaniel Holmes, William Pearson, Samuel S. Churchill, Amos Pear- 
son, John Bowtell, Suel Heaselton, Leonard Cushing, Stephen W. 
Balcomb, Stephen Cushing, John Dummer, Simeon C. Sargent, 
David Hamblet, Joseph M. Dodge, Abel Lincoln, Charles Nichols, 
John T. Spofford, John Clark, Denas Doane, Calvin Fairbanks & 
William Whall 3d all of said Chelmsford 

May 1'' 1823 

Caleb Abbott ^ Selectmen 
Xath Wright V of 

John Shed ) Chelmsford 



256 OLD RESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimack River — 
Having provided themselves with an Engine and Buckets — subject 
to the direction of the Town — petition the Select Men of the Town 
Chelmsford to Authorise th same and appoint Twenty one Engine 
men from the following list. 

Chelmsford, March 28"' 1825. 

David I. Moodv 
ArciP W Dumjieu 
George Brovvnell 
James Chandler 
Seth Chandler 
Rut^us Nichols 
Stephen Webster 
Nathan Oliver 
Grosvenor Butrick 
Caleb Marvel 
RussEL Robertson 
Jefferson \V^iieeler 
Thomas Neavell 
William Merriam 
Albigence W. Fisher 
Samuel Fisher 
Samuel Feecham 
Mavnard Bragg 
William D. Mason 
William Procter 
Cyrus Oliver 

Kirk Boott, Tre;is. & Ageut 

Props. L tt Canals on Merr. River. 

Written upon the back of the paper containing 
above was 

March 29, 1825 By Virtue of the Statutes of 1785 aiad 1805, 
we the subscribers have appointed the foregoing list of persons 
enginemen to be attached to engine No. 3 within the Town of 
Chelmsford 

Caleb Abbott 1 

NATHI- AVRIGHT \ a ^ ^ 

- Selectmeu 
John Shed i 

J. II. B. Ayer J 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 

Historical Association, 



LOWKLL, MASS. 



ORGANIZKD DECKMBER 21, 1868. 



vol, VI, No. 3. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, MAY igoo. 



Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours. ^' — Young. 



LOWELL. MASS. 
Courier-Citizen Company, Printers. i 

1900. 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 

Historical Association, 



LOVVKLL, IVI^SS. 



ORGANIZKD DECEMBER 21, 1868. 



VOL Vr, No. 3. /|S^°^'"- 



S? ^ 7 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, MAY iqoo. 



' 7 is i^reatly wise to talk with our past hours.''^ — Young. 



LOWELL, MASS. 

Courier-Citizen Company, Printers. 

1900. 



p. 
Author. 



OKFICKRS. 



SoLox \V. Stevens, President. 

S. P. Hadlev, Vice-President. 

Clarence W. Whidden, Secretary and Treasurer. 



KXECTJTIVK COMNIITTEE. 



S. W. Stevens, A. L. Bacheller, 

Fred'k Lawton, John A. Bailey, 

A. G. Cumnock, S. P. Hadley, 

Chas. Cowley, J. \^. Currier, 

A. S. Tyler, J. W. Bennett, 

Chas. A. Stott, A. P. Sawyer. 



conte:nts 



Pac;es. 

I. Annual Report for 1895-6. By Solon VV. Stevens, 



Vice-President. Read May 26, 1896 . 

II. Annual Report for 1897-8. By Solon VV. Stevens 
President. Read June 21, 1898 ... 

III. Historical Sketch of the Middlesex Mechanics Asso 

elation. By Hon. Frederick Lawton. Read Jan 

31, 1899 

IV. Annual Report for 1898-9. By Solon VV. Stevens 

President. Read May 29, 1899 . 

V. Annual Report for 1899-1900. By Solon W. Stevens 
President. Read May 29, 1900 ... 



257 



166 



279 






-I -> r 

Jo5 



/. Amntal Report for ISOo-G. By Solon W. 
Stevens, Jlce-Pres. Bead May 2G, 1896. 



Lowell, May 20, 1896. 

Tt aiiaiii becomes the duty of the President of the 
Old Residents' Association of Lowell to present an annual 
report. A revieAV of the events which have occurred 
during the past year does not offer many incidents of 
striking interest which properly come within the range 
of such a report, and in, fact all that need be said is sub- 
stantially reduced to the statement that our Society has 
continued its quiet, unobtrusive existence in its usually 
prosjjerous waj^, together with the additional statement 
that death has marked with its fatal asterisk several 
names which for many years have been enrolled on the 
list of our membership. 

In an address delivered on the 3d of May, 18G9, 
by the first President of this Association, Dr. John O. 
Green, at its first annual meeting, the speaker stated that 
in the autumn of 1823 he witnessed the singular and 
novel experiment of the planting of bushels of acorn.^ 
over a large tract of land in the vicinity of School Street, 
under the personal oversight of Ezra Woithen, Esq., for 
the purpose of providing superior white oak timber for 
the use of the mills in future years. Of course the enter- 
prise was a failure, for the little shrubs never grew to 
more than a foot in height, while the attention of the 
original participants in the scheme vras diverted to more 
serious purposes. But the incident showed the spirit of 
hopefulness and patience characteristic of the early 
builders who laid the foundations of our attractive and 
prosperous city. It seems to me the same spirit of faith, 
and hope, and patience, was exercised by the founders 



258 OLD residents' historical association. 



of this organization when they determined to execute 
tlieir plans, and to persist in their efforts for "the estab- 
lishment of a local historical society, whose objects shall 
be to preserv-e all legends, traditions, facts and reminis- 
cences connected with one of the most interesting; cities 
on this continent." 

Unlike the experiment witnessed by Dr. Green, this 
enterprise has proved successful, and it only remains for 
us and our successors to magnify its importance, enlarge 
its scope, and impress upon others the necessity of giving 
to its peculiar work more general encouragement. The 
papers and records which liaye been written, read, and 
prescribed under the auspices of the Old Residents' Asso- 
ciation have become a collection of historical data rela- 
tive to the personality of Lowell citizenship which can 
be obtained from no other equally reliable source, and 
these data are increasing in interest and value everv^ year. 
Add to this collection the manuscripts, books, pamphlets, 
and volumes of newspapers, which are the property of 
the Association, and which, but for this Association, 
would never have been preserved, and it may well be 
questioned wliether any such collection of peculiar his- 
torical material exists anyM'here within the limits of 
tlie land. 

Perhai)S in this connection it may be proper to state 
tliat the matter of the publication of a History of Lowell 
under the auspices of this Association has not liCii^n 
lost sight of by the Committee having the nmtter in 
cliarge. It is, however, an undertaking which involves 
leisure, patience, and careful preparation, and in order 
to even ai)i)roximate the ideal standard which it is utterly 
impossible to realize, sufficient time must be allowed and 
be taken for an enterprise of so great importance. 

It may also be proper to add that a petition has been 
recently presented to the city authorities in behalf of the 



ANNUAL REPORT. 259 



Old Residents' Assoeiatiou prayiug that said Association 
may be allowed to hold its meetings, locate its properties, 
and establish its headquarters in Memorial Hall. No 
decision has vet been reached rehitive to the matter, so 
that nothing further can be said, excej)t to emphasize 
the expression of hope that a favorable answer may be 
given to our request. 

The following are the names of those members of 
the Association who have passed away since the last 
annual meeting: 



1. George W. Patterson. 

George W. Patterson, brother of the late Ex-Senator 
Patterson of New Hampshire, died at his home, Xo. 38 
West Sixth Street, July 19th, 1895. He was born in 
Henniker, N. H., on the 12th of March, 1815, and came 
to Lowell with his father in 1831. Soon after his arrival 
here he entered the employ of the Lawrence Manufac- 
turing Company, where he remained forty-one years, 
thir-ty-five of which he served as overseer. He was one 
of the oi-iginal members of Kirk Street Church, having 
identified himself with those who came out from the 
First Congregational Church with the late Rev. Dr. 
Blanchard, to form the Kirk Street Church, and he was 
regarded until the close of his life as one of its most 
zealous and devoted members. 



2. Cleveland J. Cheney. 

A biographical sketch of Mr. Cheney is purposely 
omitted here because a paper relative to his life, prepared 
bv Col. James Francis, is to be found elsewhere in the 
published papers of the Old Residents' Association. 



260 OLD residents' historical association. 



3. Oliver A. Richardsou. 

Oliver A. Ricbardson was born Nov. 2l8t, , at 

East Medway, Mass., came to Lowell October 31st, 1832, 
and died here Angnst 21st, 1895, aged 85 years and 9 
mouths. As will be observed, Mr. Richardson came to 
this place when Lowell was a town, and commenced 
business as a gunsmith and a locksmith. He was at first 
located on Middlesex Street, having erected the first shop 
on that street between Central Street and what is now 
called the Northern Depot. Later he moved to Middle 
Street, where he had his shop and his dwelling-house 
for manv vears. and then finallv located his business on 
Central Street. In 1853, Mr. Richardson moved to Bos- 
ton and established his business on Washington Street, 
North End, where he remained for about eight years, 
and afterward returned to Lowell, where he remained 
until his death. He was much, respected as a citizen, 
quiet in manner, genial in disposition, and ever ready to 
lend a helping hand to the unfortunate. 

4. Solomon Danforth. 

Solomon Danforth, an old and respected resident of 
this city, died at his home on Loring Street, December 
7th, 1895, at the age of 77 years. He was a. native of 
NeAv Ham])shire, and had been a citizen of Lowell since 
1834. He Avas formerly engaged in real estate business, 
but relinquished active duties as a business man several 
vears ago on account of his infirmities. Mr. Danforth, 
like several others whose names are mentioned in these 
brief notices, became a resident here before Lowell was 
incoi^)orated as a city. After a long and useful life he 
died respected and beloved by a large circle of acquaint- 
ances and friends. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 261 



5. John S. Jaqnes. 

John 8. Jaques was born at Sanborntou, N. II., 
March 19th, 1812, and died at his home on East Merri- 
mack Street, Jannaiy 31st, 1896, at the age of 83 yeai-s. 
He was well known as a business man, being promi- 
nently identified with the manufacturing of sliuttles, from 
the active duties of which he retired some years ago. In 
April, 1835, he was man'ied to Nancy C. Tilton, who died 
July 7th, 1891. The fiftieth anniversary of their marriage 
was celebrated at their residence in a very pleasant and 
social way in 1885. In November, 1894, Mr. Jaques was 
married to Adelia S. Kempsej' of Lowell. Mr. Jaques 
was for a long time one of the Trustees of the Central 
Savings Bank and was very zealous in promoting the 
interests of that institution. He came to Lowell in 1832, 
and throughout his long ami busy life was higbly 
esteemed. 

G. James Watson. 

James Watson, one of our oldest and best-known 
citizens, was born in Nottingham, N. H., August 2nd, 
1818, and died in Lowell March 21st, 189G, at the age of 
77 years and 7 months, tie came to Lowell May 26th, 
1835. For fifty-six years he lived on the Meri-imack 
Corporation and occupied the responsible position of 
overseer in the Merrimack Mills dui-ing the greater por- 
tion of that time. He served as Councilman in 1850-51, 
and as Alderman in 1860-61. Mr. Watson always mani- 
fested great interest in the People's Club and held the 
office of Secretary of this organization from tbe date of 
its beginning until the close of his life. His zeal in its 
Avelfare was very marked, and as long as he was physi- 
cally able to do so he Visited its apartments several times 
every week, having missed only two meetings of its Board 



262 OLD residents' historical association. 



of Government in all the years of tlie existence of the 
club. He was identified with our manufacturing indus- 
tries in connection with the Merrimack Mills for more 
than half a century, and his reminiscences relative 
thereto were delightful to listen to because his accurate 
njemory was filled with so many incidents relative to per- 
sons and things connected with this company. Mr. 
Watson's gradual decline in health had been noticed with, 
anxiety' by his family and friends, but he kept actively 
employed until within a few weeks of the time when the 
inevitable end came. Personally he was a man of strict 
integrity, delightful as a companion, devoted as a hus- 
band and father, and in death he has left behind tlie 
memoiy of a useful and well spent life. 

7. George F. Scribner. 

Mr. George F. Scribner was born in Chelsea, Vt., on 
the 16th of October, 1830, and died at his home in Belvi- 
dere in this city on the 14th of October, 1895. He came 
to Lowell in 1847, and had always lived here with the 
exception of a short period of time passed in California. 
His business was that of a contractor at the Lowell 
Machine Shop, with which corporation he was connected 
mauv vears. He served tAvo vears in the Common C-oun- 
cil, two years on the Board of Aldermen, two years in 
the State Legislature, and four years on the School Board. 
He was a Trustee and Vice-President of the Central Sav- 
ings Bank from the date of its organization. He was 
regarded as a man of strict integrity, sound judgment, 
affable and kind in all his relations with his fellowmen, 
and his memory will always be cherished with aft'ection 
and esteem. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 2G3 



8. John H. McAlvin. 

John H. McAlvin was born in this city on Chapel 
llill August 2nd, 1831, and died at his home on Methuen 
Street May 1st, 1896. His death was not altogether 
unexpected, but its announcement was received by his 
many friends with profound regret. At the time of his 
decease he was a member of the Board of Alder;nen. He 
was chosen City Clerk for the first time in 1S5S. succeed- 
ing Mr. AYilliam Lamson, Jr., which position he resigned 
in 1809 to become City Treasurer. He was annually 
re-elected to this office until 1883. ^^ince that time he 
has served as Manager of the Novelty Plaster Works for 
the period of twelve years, and as Treasurer of the Lowell 
Electric Light Corporation for thirteen years. He A^as 
at the time of his death Treasurer of the Tvler Ten Cigar 
Company, and also Clerk of the Society of the Unitarian 
Church. Mr. McAlvin Avas always diligent and faithful 
to his duties in whatever position he was placed, and he 
commanded the universal respect of the community for 
his fidelity and personal integrity. 

9. Wilder Bennett. 

Mr. Wilder Bennett died at the home of his daughter, 
Mrs. G. G. Tarbell, in East Pepperell, on the 2nd of May, 
1890, at the age of 83 years. He was born in Dunstable, 
April 17th, 1832. His occupation was that of a mason. 
He built the principal buildings connected with the Mer- 
rimack and Hamilton Corporations, and also Fiske's 
Block, the Appleton Bank Block, Central Block, the Eliot, 
tlie First Universalist and the First Congregational 
Churches. He served several years as Superintendent of 
the Lowell Horse Railroad, being the second one 
employed by that company in that capacity. For many 
years he was connected with the American Brass Band 



264: OLD residents' historical association. 



as a clariiiet player; aud it. is said that at the outbreak 
of the Civil War, being Superintendent of Streets in our 
city, he could not obtain permission from the City Council 
to go to the front with the band, but subsequently went 
to Washington in season to return with them at the close 
of the 100 days' seiwice. He was an estimable man and 
died greatly respected by a large circle of friends. 

10. llapgood Wright. 

Mr. Hapgood Wright was born in Concord, Mass., on 
the 28th day of March, 1811, and died at his home on 
Lawrence Street on Thursday, May 14th, 189(3, being a 
little more than 85 years of age at the time of his decease. 
He came to Lowell in 1828, when what is now a large and 
prosperous city was simply a thriving manufacturing 
town of about 5000 inhabitants. He was employed as a 
clerk or assistant in a shoe store, and at the age of 19 he 
opened a store and commenced for himself the business 
of selling boots and shoes, in which line he continued 
actively until October, 1886. He was elected to the 
Common Council in 1815-16, and also seiwed as Alderman 
in 1856 aud in 1869, and subsequently was elected to the 
House of Representatives in the Legislature of the State. 
On the death of the Hon. Daniel S. Kichardson he was 
chosen President of the Prescott National Bank, and he 
was also a Trustee of the Five Cent Savings Bank. He 
became a member of the Unitarian Church iu 1818, and 
always maintained a sincere interest iu its affairs. In 
1876 he gave to the Citv of Lowell the sum of 81000 to 
be held in trust for fifty years, the profits then to be 
applied to some needed municipal purpose aud tlie prin- 
cipal to be invested for another fifty years. This is 
known as the Hapgood Wright Centennial Fund. It is 
said he made a similar gift to the town of Concord, Mass., 
his birthplace, to be invested under similar limitations. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 265 



Mr. Wright was familiarly kiiowu, and was universally 
respected as a gentleman of spotless character, and as 
an honorable, enterprising citizen. 

Thus our companions, one by one, drop away, and 
their faces are seen no more. The lines are continually 
breaking, and it is useless to conjecture whether the ten- 
sion be weak or strong. Changes and mysteries surround 
us on eveiw hand, and life itself is but a series of mys- 
teries, but death is the greatest mvsterv of them all. The 
answer to the questions whence, why, wherefore, 
whither, — questions which appertain to our existence 
today and to our condition tomorrow, we do not, we can- 
not, know. Not by self-abandonment to the decrees of 
Fate, but only by obedience to the still, small voice of 
duty can we reach that sublime faith in a higher Power, 
in the exercise of which we may perhaps gain some clue 
to the sequel of these mysteries, find hope in the eternal 
promises, 

" And justify the ways of God to man." 

Respectfully submitted, 

kSOLDN W. STEVENS, President. 



II. Annual Report for 1897-98. By Solon W 
Stevens, Pres. Read June 21, 1898. 



The attention of the members of the Old Residents' 
Historical Association is hereby respectfully invited to 
the following report for the year just brought to a close: 

There have been but few meetings held during the 
year, but the records and archives of the Association 
hare been enriched bv donations and bv the contribution 
of several exceedingly interesting papers. Inasmuch as 
these papers will soon be ready for circulation so as to 
be read at leisure, it is not considered necessary to refer 
to them at length by way of comment, except to say that 
each of them contains mnch valuable information which 
not only becomes interesting reading for the present 
moment, but which will receive increasing value as time 
passes by. 

The following donations have been received by the 
Association, and their acceptance duly acknowledged: 

Report of the Proceedings of the Wyoming Com- 
memorative Association on the One Hundred and Nine- 
teenth Anniversarv of the Battle and Massacre of 
Wvoming. 

A pamphlet entitled "Who Invented the Reaper?" 
by the McCormick Harvesting romj}any. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 267 



Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society. 
Vol. 4. 

The SeYenteenth Auuual Eeport of the New England 
Society of Brooklyn. 

The Third Biennial Report of the Librarian of the 
Historical Society of Montana. 

t. 

State Library Bulletin of the Uniyersity of New 
York. 

State Library Extension Bulletin, Summer Schools. 

State Library Extension Bulletin, Public Library 
l>iyisions. 

Beport Smithsonian Institution, United States 
National Museum. 

Report of the Commissioners of Education, 1895-6. 

Vol. 1 from Bureau of Education. 

Speeches of Hon. Jacob H. Gallinger of New Hamp- 
shire in the L^nited States Senate. Pub. Doc. 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 9, No. 2. 

Report of the President of Yale Uniyersity for the 
year ending Dec. 31st, 1897. 

Catalogue of Y^ale Uniyersity for 1897. Receiyed 
Dec. 31st, 1897. 

Catalogue of Yale Uniyersity for 1897. Receiyed 
July 10th, 1897. 

Proceedings of tbe State Historical Society of Wis- 
consin at its forty-fifth annual meeting, Dec. 9th and 
16th, 1897, and History of the Historical Society" by the 
Secretary and Superintendent. 

Publications of Rhode Island Historical Association. 
Vol. 5, No. 2. 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 8, No. 4. 

Register of the Uniyersity of C-alifornia for 1896-97. 

A hand-book on the Annexation of Hawaii, by Lor- 
rin A. Thurston. 



268 OLD residents' historical association. 



Publications of Rhode Island Historical Association. 
A^ol. 5, No. 3. 

The Thirteenth Annual Rei)ort of the Maine Genea- 
logical Society for 1896. 

Report of the Annual Meeting of the Chicago His- 
torical t^ociety. 

Lowell (1ty Documents. 

A paper on International Bimetallism, read before 
the California Bankers' Association, 

Fort^'-fourth Annual Report of the Directors of the 
American CongTegational Association, 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 8, No. 3. 

Annual Report of the Managers of the Buffalo His 
torical Society for 1S9G and 1897. 

Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
Vol. 6, No, 1, 

Smithsonian Report for 1895. 

Biographical sketch of Samuel Horn, by Rev. J. M. 
Greene, D, D, 

Dedham Historical Register, Vol. 9, No. 1, 

Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
A'ol. 5, No. 4. 

Manual of the New Hampshire Historical Society 
Reyised Proceedings of the New Ilampsliire Historical 
Society. A'ol. 3, part 1. 

Eightieth Annual Report of the New York State 
Library for 1897. 

Histoiw and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck Vallev 
Memorial Association, 1880-1889. V(d. 2. 

Report of the Commissioners (»f Education, 1895-(). 
Vol. 2. 

Uniyersity of New York, 

State Historian's Report. 

State Libraiy Report, 1895 and 1896. 

State Library Bulletin Legislation, No, 9. 



ANINUAL REPORT. 269 



State Library Extension Bulletin, Nos. 21, 22 and 23. 
Also Seventy-seventh Annual Report for 1804. 
State Library Bulletin Additions, No. 3. 
State Libranr Bulletin Additions, No. 4. 
State Libraiy Extension Bulletins, Nos. 14, 15, 16, 17 
and 18. 

With one exception there have been no peculiar inci- 
dents in the history of this Association during the last 
year. The principal object of an organization like this 
is to procure by research such data of events which have 
transpired in the past as have a bearing upon the lives an:l 
acts of those who lived and wrought as citizens here, and 
to presence such material in permanent form that it may. 
be ready both for immediate and for future use. With 
this design in mind, the Association has continued along 
in its quiet, unobtrusive manner gathering materials 
and data which undoubtedly will some day prove to be 
of inestimable value. 

The one exception to the usual course of things 
alluded to above is the fact that so many of our asso- 
ciates have passed away during the last year. There 
have been thirteen deaths in our membership since our 
last annual meeting. 

These men against whose names "the fatal asterisk 
has been set" were widely known, highly respected, and 
will be sadly missed. Some of them were prominently 
identified at various times with public positions, while 
others lived along less conspicuous lines; but all of them 
Avere honored and beloved in life, and in their death their 
memoiw is tenderlv cherished with affection and esteem. 
The limits of this report necessarily forbid the presenta- 
tion of a complete sketch of the lives of these worthy 
men, but friendship prompts some tribute to their 
memory, brief and inadequate though it be. 



270 OLD residents' historical association. 



Mr. William H. Cooper died at his home, No. 12 Ware 
Street, on the morning of June 23rd, 1897, at the age of 
76 rears. He had lived in Lowell some sixty rears, and, 

•^ ^ 7 7 

according to the published statement, he had been in the 
Post Oflice Department since 1851. He was well known 
as a qniet, conscientious man, faithful in the performance 
of his duties, and is todar tenderly remembered as a cond 
citizen and an affectionate husband and father. 

Mr. Daniel Bradford Bartlett, so well known as the 
Paymaster of the Lowell Gas Light Company, after a resi- 
dence in this city for half a century, died at his home 
on Willow Street on the 10th of July, 1897, at the age 
of upwards 76 years. Mr. Bartlett was born in Concord, 
Massachusetts. He was a grandson of Dr. Josiah Bart- 
lett of Charlestown, Mass., who was a surgeon in the 
Rerolutionary War; and on his maternal side he was the 
eighth in descent from Gor. William Bradford of the 
Plymouth Colony. He Aras educated in the public 
schools of Concord, and was a classmate with the Hon. 
George F. Hoar, our distinguished Ignited States Senator, 
and with Judge Brooks, late of the Middlesex County 
Probate Court. He was a machinist by trade, and in 
1817 came to Lowell and entered the employment of the 
Lowell Machine Shop Cori)oration. He became con- 
nected with the Lowell Gas Light Company in 1850, the 
rear in which this company began its business, and con- 
tinued in its employ as Paymaster and Clerk until the day 
of his death. Mr. Bartlett u'as widely known for his 
intelligence and genial manner, and he will long be 
remembered as one of our most highly respected citizens. 

Mr. George Sargent Cheney, after a long and painful 
illness, died at the age of 72 years at his home on Moody 
Street July 19th, 1897. Mr. Cheney was a natiye of Sut- 



ANNUAL RErORT. 271 



ton, N. IT., and came to Lowell in 1840. He was a member 
of tlie Common Oonncil in 1867 and 1868, a member of 
the Board of Aldermen in 1869, and from 1891 to 1891 
inclusive was a member of the Board of Assessors. Dur- 
ing his long and useful life he held many positions of 
trust and responsibility, prominent among which were a 
trusteeship and a vice-presidency of the Five Cent Sav- 
ings Bank. He was a man of good judgment, of strict 
integrity, of wide business experience, and was consid- 
ered a safe and conscientious adviser. It has been 
truthfulh" said of him that "his general record in Lowell 
from his coming to his last day will reflect credit upon 
himself and upon our city." 

Mr. George T. Whitney, another of our oldest and 
most highly respected citizens, died on the evening of 
August 30th, 1897. Mr. \Yhitney came to Lowell in the 
early days of its municipal existence, and during the 
greater portion of his life was engaged in the meat and 
provision business. He was a quiet, unassuming man, 
never caring for public life, but diligent in business, 
faithful in his undertakings, and genial and pleasant in 
all his social relations. He was one of the original incor- 
porators of the Central Methodist Church on John Street, 
and one of its most devoted members. He was 78 vears 
of age at the time of his death. 

Mr. Ira. Leonard died at the age of 91, on the evening 
of September 20th, 1897. Mr. Leonard was born in Allens- 
towm, N. H., Februaiy 11th, 1806, and was a resident of 
Lowell for more than flftv vears. It is said that he could 
distinctlv remember the arrival of Lafavette in this coun- 
try, and that he was present at the laying of the corner- 
stone of the monument on Bunker Hill. It is also said 
that he made the first crank to a loom in this city in the 



272 OLD residents' historical association. 



Meniiiiack Mills in 1832, and tlmt lie helped to build the 
first locomotive made in this country. He was a very 
intelligent man, having- travelled extensively, and having 
visited almost every imaginable place of interest, both 
at home and abroad. He was a peculiar man in some 
respects, very positive in his ideas, but open-hearted, 
genial and honest in his dealings with his fellowmen. 

Mr. Henry Cook Church, at the age of 84, died on 
the morning of November lOtli, 1897. Mr. Church was 
born in Hartford, Conn., and was a lineal descendant of 
Eichard Church, the ancestor of the Church family in 
America, Avho was born in England in IGOS, and came 
to this country in 1630. Mr. Church was prominently 
identified with the insurance business, and his death 
removes from sight one whose face and voice were 
familiar in the prominent business circles of our city. 
No one knew him but to esteem him highly, for he was 
a man of unblemished integrity, of good judgment, of 
warm sympathies, and always reliable in lii:s friendships 
and ])romises. 

M]'. Josiali Greenongh Peabody died on the morning 
of February 25th, 181)8, in the DOth year of his age. He 
was born in Portsmouth, N. H., and came to Lowell in 
1824. He had thus been a resident of Lowell nearly sev- 
enty-four years, a period of time which runs back to a date 
before Lowell was incorporated as a town. He assisted 
in buildino- one of the first mills erected bv the Hamilton 
Manufacturing Company; he built the bank building on 
Shattuck Street, the Kirk Street and St. Joseph 
Churches, the Lunatic Asylum at Taunton, the Custom 
House at (Gloucester, and also several mills on the cor- 
porations in Lowell. He early became interested in the 
Fire Department of Lowell, and in 188G, when the Vet- 



ANNUAL REPORT. 273 



eraii Fireiiieii's Association was formed, lie became its 
first I'resideut, aud, altliou-^h unable to attend many of 
the meetings of this organization, he was unanimously 
re elected annually to the office of President to the time 
of his decease. He joined the Mechanic Phalanx in 1840, 
sen-ed as Captain of the company from 1843 to 1840, and 
then resigned his commission and returned to the ranks. 
He was a member of the Common Council in 1859 and 
1800, and a member of the Board of Aldermen in 1850. 
He was a member of the Legislature in 1837 and in 1855, 
and a member of the Executive Council in 1856. In 
1805'0() and in 1872 he w^as Mayor of this city; and in 
1874 jind 1875 was a member of the School Committee. 
He at one time filled the office of President of the Lowell 
Cemeteiy Corporation, and at the time of his decease was 
President of the Merrimack Kiver Savings Bank. In all 
the various positions of trust which he occupied he per- 
formed his duties with peculiar vigor and i)er.<istenc'e, and 
Avith unswerving devotion to his sense of dutv. In life 
he was respected, and in death he is remembered as a 
zealous, upright, honest man. 

Mr. George Dennis Hills, another highly esteemed 
citizen, died at his home in this city at the age of 09 
years and 8 months, on the 15th of April, 1898. Mr. 
Hills, who came from sturdy New England stock, was 
born at Sterling, Massachusetts, on the 30th of July, 1828. 
He came to Lowell in 1856 and entered the employment 
of Dr. James C. Ayer as chief bookkeeper, which position 
he filled at the date of his decease. In testimony of the 
fidelitv of Mr. Hills in the dailv service in which he was 
engaged I quote the following incident as related in the 
newspaper obituary notice of this highly respected 
citizen: "About a month ago, when it was hoped that 
rest and ease would add many years to a valued life, Mr. 



274 OLD residents' historical association. 



Rose, the Manager of tlie J. C. Ayer Co., called on Mr, 
Hills, and told him that while his chair would be always 
ready for him at his desk and a welcome always waiting 
for him in the office, which would seem strange without 
him, he was no more to feel the obligation of work. The 
company wished him to enjoy a well-earned rest for his 
i-emaining days and accept a continuation of his salarv 
for life as a token of appreciation of good and faithful 
ser\ ice. It Avas hard to saj' which was the happier in 
this proposition, the company in making it, or Mr. Hills 
in accepting it." Mr. Hills was a great sufferer during 
the latter portion of his life on account of physical 
infirmities, but he constantly evinced a cheerful disposi- 
tion, based upon his strong religious spirit, maintaining 
to the last unswerving faith in "Him who doeth all 
things well." 

Mr. Samuel Horn died at the age of 91 vears and 3 
mouths, on the morning of April 15th, 1898. Mr. Horn was 
born in Southboro, Massachusetts, on December 31st,180r). 
It was in the rugged, honest life of a countrj^ farm that 
Mr. Horn learned the lessons of industry and i^ersever- 
ance in the performance of duty which laid the foundation 
of his prosperous career as a business man and as an 
honored citizen. He came to Lowell in the December of 
1828 and engaged in business as a manufacturer ami 
shipper of soap tallow and candles, and a dealer in hides, 
in which business he continued until his retirement from 
(lailv active duties in 1886. He was a member of the 
Oitv Government in 1839, one of the founders of the 
Wamesit National bank in 1853, also one of the founders 
of the Merrimack River Savings Bank in 1871, and con- 
tinued as a Director of the one and as a Trustee of the 
other until the day of his death. Mr. Horn was a remark- 
ably well-preserved man mentally and physically. He 



ANNUAL REPORT. 275 



was yen' intelligent, quiet and imobtrusive in manner, 
and in business life his word was always regarded as good 
as his bond. We shall not soon forget his handsome 
face, nor that dignified manner and that genial, lovable 
nature which made him a splendid specimen of a gentle- 
man of the old-fashioned school. The following extract 
from a beautiful tribute paid to the memory of Mr. Horn 
by the Key. John M. Greene of this city may i^roperly be 
quoted here: ^'We who are left shall miss his ever genial 
and inspiring presence. He was a conspicuous person- 
age among us — dignified in his bearing, courteous in his 
manners, active in his habits, remarkably well preserved 
for one of his age, walking at the age of 91 years our 
streets unattended, punctual at the places of business, 
always kind and cordial, the best of company for young 
or old. He had a fund of anecdote and could both tell 
and relish a good story. He never said aught against 
any one, and no one in his presence felt like airing the 
infirmities and faults of others. His presence lifted one 
above all that is mean or low. I have had many pleasant 
hours with him, and all my recollections of him fill me 
with joy and delight. There was a sweetness about his 
disposition which was remarkable; none of the morose- 
ness and fault-finding which sometimes mar the spirit 
of the aged. He took a cheerful, hopeful view of every- 
thino- and if he had sorrows he did not obtmde them 
upon others. As I look on his face in the casket, the 
words of John Milton come to me: 



" A death -like sleep, 
A gentle wafting to immortal life." 

Mr. Jeremiah Clark, after an illness extending over 
a period of two months, died on the 22nd of April, 1898, 
at the age of upwards 79 years. Two days previous 
to his decease his wife, his wedded companion for neafly 



27ti OLD residents' historical association. 



sixty years, had passed away, hence th:^ peealiarly 
pathetic incident of tlie burial of this aj^ed couple 
together, side by side, on the same occasion and by the 
same funeral service. Mr. Clark was born in AVashing- 
ton, Vermont, on the 11th of February, 1819. At the 
age of 16 years he came to Lowell, and for thirty-five 
years served as apprentice, journeyman, and contractor 
in the Lowell Machine Shop, and in 1867 he established 
a biisiness as a dealer in textile machinery, which at the 
time of his death was said to be the largest industry of 
its kind in the country. He was a member of the Lowell 
City (royernment in 1852, a member of the House of Rep- 
resentatives in 1860-61, and a member of the Senate in 
1873. Mr. Clark was prominently identified with the 
AYorthen Street Methodist Episcopal (linrch, of which 
society he was Trustee for thirty-eight years. The fol- 
lowing is an extract from a tribute to the memui-A^ of Mr. 
Clark by his pastor, the Rev. E. T. Curnick: "If the 
adage is trne, 'If a man wants friends he must show him- 
self to be friendh",' then our brother must have been 
friendly, for he had hosts of friends. If he had an enemv 
I am sure it was no fault of his. His friendship can be 
measured by the multiplied expressions of sorrow we 
have all heard because of his death. I have heard these 
expressions in Lowell, Boston, and almost everywhere, 
and from all classes of persons. Friend sliip is the result 
of esteem, respect and love; and there was something in 
Brother Clark which drew out all these noble cpmlities. 
AVith him acquaintanceship was almost sure to blossom 
into friendship, and this friendship, like a beautiful plant, 
was wont to grow stronger and more fruitful as the years 
went by. In a thousand ways he proved his friendship 
by putting himself to trouble, inconvenience and loss for 
the sake of his friends. When a favor was asked of him, 
how ready was he to grant it, if possible, and, if unable, 



ANNUAL REPORT. 277 



with Avhat kind and tender words would he express his 
rearet!" 



fe' 



Mr. Frederielv Fi-^e died on the 17th of Mav, 1S'J8, at 
the age of 73 years and G months. Mr. Frye was widely 
known as a contractor, and as one of onr most highly 
resjDected citizens. He was a member of the Common 
Council in 1802 and 18G3, and was a member of the Board 
of Aldermen in 18G8 and in 1877. He was thoroughly 
upright, sincere and honest as a man, and because of 
these qualities as a citizen he was greatly respet-ted. 

Mr. Alfred D. Barker died at the residence of his 
son, Mr. George F. Barker, in Lawrence, Mass., March 
23d, 1898, at the ag-e of 89 years. He was born in Acton, 
Mass., Dec. 8th, 1808. He came to Lowell when a 3^oung 
man and learned the carpenter's trade. Excepting 
two years spent in California, he was a resident of this 
city for more than sixty years. At the time of his death 
he was the oldest member of Mechanics Lodge, I. O. O. 
F. He was an honest, upright and industrious man, and 
held the resx)ect of a large circle of friends. 

Mr. Chauncey Langdon Knapp, after a lingering- ill- 
ness, died on the 31st of May, 1898, at the age of 89 years. 
Mr. Knapp was born in Berlin, Vermont, February 26th, 
1809. He came to Lowell in 1840 and followed his trade 
of journeyman printer. He was for a time asso:-iated 
with Mr. John P. Pillsbury in the publication of the Mid- 
dlesex Standard, in the building where the Lowell 
Morning Times was recently published. He Avas con- 
nected with the Lowell Citizen until April 1st, 1882. He 
was Clerk of the Massachusetts Senate in 1851. He 
received the nomination for Congress when Lowell was 
in the old Eighth Congressional District in 1816-18-54 and 
56, and was elected in the last two campaigns, defeating 



278 OLD residents' historical association. 



(tch. Butler in 1856. He was also a member of tlie 
School Board for two years. Mr. Knapp was verv liighly 
respected, and both in public and in private life exerted 
his influence both by pen and speech for the promotion 
of the welfare of our city, and especially for the pros- 
perity of our local industries as connected with 
economical questions which involved judicious and wise 
tariff legislation. 

Such is the obituary record of this Association for 
the year which has now reached its close. Thirteen of 
our associates have been laid at rest within the past 
tweh'e months. The youngest age recorded is 69 years 
and 8 months; the average age of these liVes is a little 
over 83 years. Twelve of these men passed the Scriptural 
limit of three score and ten. Six of them exceeded 
four score, and two of them lived beyond the age of four 
score and ten. It is a remarkable record, filled with 
hallowed memories and fraught with peculiar signifi- 
cance. The name of each of these men is a synonym of 
honesty and integrity of character. We shall miss them 
very much. But in moments of loving remembrance let 
us listen for a voice speaking to us from above the 
clouds, saying: 

" Say not good night; but in some happier clime 
Bid me, good morning." 

Respectfully submitted, 

SOLON W. STEVENS, President. 



///. Historical Sketch of tli e Middlesex Mecluui- 
ics Association. By Hon. Frederick Laiv- 
ton. Head Jan. Jl, 1S09. 



Hie act of the Great aud General Court incorporat- 
ing the Middlesex Mechanics Association received the 
signature of Gov. Levi Lincoln, June ISth, 1825.* It 
enacted that "Samuel Feckharm and Micajah Rice, with 
all those who have or who may associate (sic) with them, 
be, and they are hereby incorporated and made a body 
politic and corporate by the name of the Middlesex 
Mechanics Association." The records of the Association 
begin with what purports to be a copy of this act of incor- 
poration, which copy calls it the Middlesex Mechanic 
Association. The Constitution, which in the records 
immediately follows the copy of the act of incorporation, 
sets forth in Article 1, Section 1: ''The style of this 
Association as specified in the act of incorporation, 
passed June 18th, 1825, shall be the Middlesex Mechanic 
Association and Library Company." The words "Library 
Company" appear aftei*^'ards as a part of the name of 
the corporation only in the Constitution of 1831, and the 
addition of the words is undoubtedly an individual 
vagary, perhaps of the first secretary. Mechanic (and 

•Acts of 1835, Chap :::. 



280 ' 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



not Meolianies) Association, however, it was certainly 
meant to be called, for the petition for incoi'i^oration so 
called it, and it so continued to be called in the records 
and everywhere else till about 1861, when the Association 
began to call itself by the name by which it was acci- 
dentally christened instead of bv that which the authors 
of its being- intended it should bear. 

The records of the meeting for organization, October 
r>tli, 1825, and of the two next succeeding meetings, 
Jr.nuary otli and February 13th, 182G, are dated at East 
Chelmsford; the record of the meeting of March 2nd, 1826 
(a government meeting), is headed Lowell, Mass., for the 
act incorporating the town had received the Governor's 
signature the dav before. These meetings and subse- 
queut meetings, until that of October 5th, 1826, were held 
at Ira Frye's Inn, which stood where the American 
House now stands.* Then for nearlv a vear thev were 
held at the Menimack Hotel. From July 5th, 1827, and 
apparently during 1828 and 1829, they met in "their 
room next the reading room," as the records describe it. 
This was in the brick building first known as the Merri- 
mack Company's Building and afterwards as Masons' 
Hall. It has long since lost its name but still stands at 
the southwesterlv corner of Merrimack and Worthen 

« 

Streets. December 13tli, 1827, a committee was chosen 
to '^confer with. Mr. Boott and Mr. Moody respecting the 
joint use of the reading room and the room adjacent, by 
the subscribers to the reading room, the Mechanic Asso- 
ciation, the two Masonic bodies, and the Mechanic 
Plialanx'' in company with committees chosen by tiie 
other bodies. It appears that satisfactory- arrangements 
were made, and that for the rest of their occupation the\ 
occupied the two rooms jointly witli the three bodies 

* Contrib. Old Res. Ass'n. Vol. ill, Page 423. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 281 



named. It would be difficult to suggest three mure incon- 
gruous co-tenants than a reading room, a military arnidrv 
and a secret society lodge; but there is no indication in 
the records that their relations to each other and to the 
Association were otherwise than harmonious so long as 
the latter remained there. A few meetings in 1830 were 
lif^ld in the Merrimack Company's school-house, whicli 
stood, as will be remembered, on the site of the present 
Green School-house.** At its second meeting there the 
Association receiyed what came near being its death, 
blow, and from October, 1S'3(), to October, 1832, there is 
no record of any meeting held anywhere. It then found 
a harbor of refuge for a few meetings at Warren Col- 
burn's office in the Merrimack Counting Room, and with 
the reyiyal of the Association, meetings were held in the 
Selectmen's room or the Town Hall until its permanent 
home was ready for occupancy. It is doubtless unneces- 
sary to remind you that the ^Selectmen's room and Town 
IFall were both in what is now called the Old City Hall 
Building. 

The original theory and purposes of the Association 
as conceiyed by its founders are shown by the petition 
for incorporation, by its charter, and by tlic preamble 
and certain proyisions of its Constitution. The charter, 
following the language of the petition, proyides that the 
income of the Association ''shall be always employed and 
expended for the purpose of relieying the distresses of 
unfortunate mechanics and their families, of promoting 
inyenti(ms and improyemeuts, by granting premiums fur 
said inyentions and improyemeuts, and of establishing a 
suitable library for the information and instruction of 
mechanics in their respectiye arts." The preamble to the 



** Ibid. yol. Ill.Page 406. 



282 OLD residents' historical association. 



Constitution as it appears in the original record is as 
follows: 

It is universally admitted that the combined operation of tlie 
Mechanic powers have been the source of those useful inventions And 
scientific arts which have given to polished society its wealth And 
conveniences respectability and defence and which have Meliorated 
the Condition of its citizens, rational than is the inference that the 
association of those who conduct these powers in their Operations will 
prove highly beneficial in promoting mutual good offices and fellowship 
in assisting the necessitous encouraging the ingenious and in reward- 
ing fidelity to effect these desirable Ends the present associates agree 
to b9 governed as a society by the following by-laws. 

The Constitution i^rovided, therefore, that the Asso- 
ciation should consist of mechanics only, '-except that 
sucli persons of distinction, j^atrons of the arts and 
friends to mechanics as the Association shall from time 
to time agree upon, mar be admitted as honorary mem- 
beis." "A Committee of Relief shall be chosen annually, 
M'hose duty it shall be to seek out and relieve such 
indigent members of the Association, or their families, 
as may be proper objects of charity." Article 3, Section 
1, says: "Benevolence shall ever be a primary and con- 
spicuous object of the Association; its funds are 
considered as chiefly devoted to the relief of the dis- 
tressed, and a liberal amount shall annually be voted to 
tlie Committee of Relief for that purpose." Section 2 of 
the same article provides that "on the death of a member 
the Committee of Finance shall immediatelv order anv 
sum not exceeding twenty dollars to be presented to his 
widow, family or legal representatives." AYhen there are 
none such, "money sufficient to defray his funeral 
expenses shall be ax»propriated and his dues to the Asso- 
ciation made void." Every member was entitled to a 
diploma and also to a certificate of membership, the form 
of which was provided by the Constitution, and was in 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 283 



the form of a recommendation of him "to the notice, 
encouragement, protection and patronage of all persons in 
all countries where he may sojourn." 

If a member was by a two-thirds vote adjudged 
guilty of dishonorable or ungentlemanlike conduct, he 
miglit be expelled, and (Article 10, Section 4) "it shall 
ever be considered dishonorable and ungentlemanlike 
conduct for any member of this association to employ an 
ai)prentice of another member, without his consent or the 
consent of the government." 

The Constitution provides also "an appropriate stand- 
ard for the Association to be borne in general x)rocession." 
Aiticle 3, Section 2, provides that "every year from the 
year 1825 there shall be a public festival in October, on 
which occasion an address shall be delivered b}^ a mem- 
ber of the Society, and the expense on such occasions 
shall be defrayed by an assessment on all the members of 
said Association." 

The Constitution provides that "as it is compatible 
with the act of incorporation and the good of societ}^, the 
Association may from time to time whfu the state of its 
finances will (permit) grant such premiums for superior 
workmanship in the respective arts it embraces as the 
government shall deem most expedient," the Association 
being required to designate in advance the arts in which 
and the articles for which the premiums for any one 
vear are to be siven. Xo reference is made to the estab- 
lishment or maintenance of a library, except in the 
chai-ter and in the name given the Association by the 
Constitution, nor of lectures, nor of general educational 
work. 

The provisions quoted, for the relief of the poor and 
distressed brethren and for the burial of the dead, for 
the annual festival, the travelling certificate and the 
baiiuer to be borne in procession, are each and all essential 



284 OLD RESIDEISITS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



characteristics of the medieval trade or craftsmen's guild. 
It is not probable that there was any actual historical 
connection between the ancient guilds and this Associa- 
tion and the many like it then springing up in this 
country and in England, only that, as they sprung up, 
some from motives verv similar to those that led to the 
formation of the guilds and some from different motives, 
they certainly took the fonn, and, like this of ours, dis- 
closed in their Constitutions purposes similar to those of 
their ancient i:)redecessors. They were, in other words, 
not a new creation, but a true eVolution, adapting the 
principles and ideas of the guilds, then dying or dead, to 
the changing condition of society and labor which came 
at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nine- 
teenth centurv. 

The true parent of our Association is undoubtedly 
the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, 
incorporated in 1806. The terms of the act incorporating 
the Middlesex Mechanics' Association are identical with 
those of the earlier act, except that the Massachusetts 
Association was not required to establish and maintain 
a library, and was authorized to assist young mechanics 
Avith loans of money. The quaint preamble of the Mid- 
dlesex Association's Constitution was copied verbatim 
from that of the Massachusetts Association-, and the pro- 
visions of the respective Constitutions show but trifling 
dilTerences. 

As early as 1795 the mechanics of Boston had formed 
an association called the Association of Mechanics of the 
Commonwealth, with Paul Revere as their first Presi- 
dent, which was subsequently incorporated as the 
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. At the 
time of the formation of the Association of Mechanics 
the apprentice system was in vogue, and under pressure 
of competition apprentices were frequently induced to 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 285 



leave their masters in violation of the terms of their 
Indentnres by promises of higher pay or lighter sei-vices. 
The protection of the interests of masters in this respect 
was the main object of the Association of 1795,* and 
explains to us the origin and motive of the careful defini- 
tion in the Middlesex Mechanic Association's Constitu- 
tion of ungentlemanlilie conduct which we have seen, a 
provision which was taken word for word from the 
Constitution of the older Association. 

The Association of Mechanics of the Commonwealth 
was a true trade guild in motive as well as form, its func- 
tions not recognized indeed by statute law, as were those 
of the trade guilds of old England, but based on custom 
and tradition. These trade guild functions survived in 
the incorporated Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic 
Association of 1806, and no doubt by the incorporators 
were still looked on as the essential functions of that 
corporation. They descended, as we have seen, to the 
child, the Middlesex Mechanic Association. The evolu- 
tion which the latter underwent, the speedy discontinu- 
ance of what, at its inception, were looked on as its 
principal functions and the development of other func- 
tions which were apparently, in the minds of its founders, 
minor and incidental, the slower but sure change in its 
membership and management, its adaptation of itself to 
the rapidly changing character of the population, to the 
passing away of old customs and the development of 
new wants and tastes, in brief the metamorphosis of this 
old trade guild into a library and lyceuni pure and simple, 
might Avell arouse the interest not alone of a local 
annalist, but of the general student of New England 
history- and society. 

To whose initiative our Association is due we have 



* Memorial Hist. Boston, Vol. IV, Page 80. 



286 OLD RES1DE>JTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOiN. 



no evidence except the signatures of the original petition 
and the names of those Avho took part in the meeting for 
organization. The two men named in the act head the 
IHtition. Of those two, Micajah Kice does not appear to 
have pai-ticipated in the meeting for organization or ever 
to have been a member. His name is written in the list 
of original members, bnt in lead pencil and by a later 
hand, and his occupation is not given. Samuel Feck- 
harm (Fechem in the records), a machinist, was the first 
President, and at the second meeting his bill of |l(j.25 
(perhaps for his services or expenses in obtaining the act 
of incorporation) was ordered to be i)aid, and he was 
made the first life member. He and Charles Smith, 
anotlier machinist, were charged in the spring of 1826 
with the duty of getting the diploma engraved; bnt 
thereafter Feckharm's name never appears in the record, 
and he was not re-elected to the presidency, Charles 
Smith succeeding him. I can find no trace of him in 
Lowell's early history except that he was one of the incor- 
porators of the Merrimack Religious Society (St. Anne's 
Church). 

Judge William A. Richardson, in his brief history 
of the Association given in the catalogue of 1861, says: 
"It was probably the design of tlie founders of this insti- 
tution to have among its members the mechanics of 
Waltham and other parts of the country, and to hold the 
meetings in different places, as all the petitioners for the 
charter had lived and learned their trade elsewhere, and 
had no especial attachment for this locality." It adds to 
the probability of this conjecture to find that of the 
eighty-four signers of the petition, less than a third 
appear to have taken part in the meeting for incorpora- 
tion or ever to have been members. Their evident 
intention to have a library (which must needs have some 
abiding j^lace) alone tends to negative the conjecture. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 287 



Of the twenty-five origioal members who took part 
in the meeting for organization, one was a i^ainter, one 
a tailor, one a wlieelwright, one a blaclvsniith, three were 
carpenters, and the remainder describe tliemselves as 
machinists. At a meeting held Jannarv 3d, 1828, it was 
Yoted that "overseers of the several rooms in manufac- 
turing establishments are considered mechanics, and as 
such may be admitted to this Association." Six months 
later, however, the Association voted "that at the next 
meeting the minds of the Association be taken to i^ass a 
vote to reconsider the vote of January 3d, 1828, making 
overseers of manufacturing rooms, mechanics, and also 
choose a committee of seven to define the word mechanic 
in its full extent and report to that meeting." Among 
the committee were Kev. Theodore Edson, Messrs. AVar- 
ren Colburn,* George Brownell and J. S. O. Knowlton. 
The committee gaA'e an elaborate definition of the word 
and expressed the opinion that, while it was unfortunate, 
it was nevertheless true that it was contrary to the 
existing Constitution to admit overseers on the ground 
of their being overseers, unless they were also mechanics. 
They recommended, however, that the Constitution be 
changed so that they might be admitted, but no action 
was taken on the matter for two years. We may well 
believe that the subject was discussed during that 
period, though nothing bearing on it appears on the 
records except a vote on January 1st, 1829, by the Gov- 
ernment to admit minors and persons not mechanics to 
the privileges of the lectures and library. At a meeting 
held Januaiy 7th, 1831, a committee which had been 
chosen, in lieu of one discharged, whose duty it was "to 
report on the expediency of altering the Constitution so 



* Dr. Edson was an honorary member. Warren ColDurn was admitted as a machin- 
ist, he having learned that trade before he entered Harvard College. 



288 OLD RESIDE>iTs' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



as to make all respectable persous eligible to member- 
ship in this Association, whether mechanics or not," (the 
committee consisting of Messrs. Oolburn, Beard, Russell, 
and Lewis) reported that it was expedient. This doe- 
trine, anticipating by twenty years the final position of 
the Association, was altogether too advanced for the 
conservatism of that day. Evolution bad not proceeded 
so far, and it was voted not to accept the report by a 
Vote of twenty-three nays to twelve yeas. There follow 
at the same meeting three votes wliich are somewhat 
difficult to understand. They are as follows: "10th, 
nominated and chose the Government as a committee to 
dispose of the library and other effects of the Associa- 
tion; 11th, voted that the committee be instructed to 
dispose of all the effects of the Association; 12th, voted 
that after disposing of the above-named effects a special 
meeting shall be called to see if the members w^ill vote 
to dissolve the Association." Whether it was that, as 
has been known to happen in deliberative assemblies, a 
triumphant majority supposed it had accomplished its 
pur^Dose of killing tlie measure, left the meeting and so 
turned the previous minority into a majority which pro- 
ceeded to do the only logical thing (in their minds) 
remaining to be done, nameh', wind up the Association; 
or whether the majority were supporting a dog-in-the- 
manger policy, recognized that the Association could not 
live with its membership restricted as it had been, but 
still determined that that membership) should not be 
broadened, and consented that the Association should 
die, it is impossible at this far awa}^ day to tell. The 
latter seems the more reasonable theorj^, but at all 
events the instructions of the meeting contained in these 
three votes were not caiTied out. A meeting was held 
October 7th of the same year at which it was voted "that 
Mr. Colburn be api)ointed a committee and authorized to 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION, 289 



purcliase and import a circle of reflection and a stand 
for the same, and an artificial horizon, with the under- 
fcitandiug- that he advance the money for the purpose, and 
if at an after period the Association shall refund the 
money to him, they shall have the right so to do and 
take the instruments; otherwise they shall remain as 
surety to Mr. Colburn." It was also voted to reconsider 
the tenth, eleventh and twelfth articles of the last meet- 
ing. A metaphorical circle of reflection and new 
horizon the Association certainly needed, for it apj)ears 
to have been thoroughly demoralized. No further meet- 
ing of the Association or Government was held for two 
years, and when meetings were held from 1832 to 183-4 
they had no apparent purpose or effect, except to keep 
the organization alive. But one meeting was held in 
1832, that of October, in the Merrimack Company's 
school-house. A meeting of the Government and one of 
the Association were held in January, 1833, at which it 
was voted to settle with Thomas Billings for services in 
taking charge of the library, and that the library and 
philosophical apparatus be collected and stored in the 
Merrimack Counting Room, where these meetings were 

held. 

Without question this period was filled with consul- 
tations, plans and efforts of which the records show 
nothing except the result. On Saturday evening, Feb- 
ruary 8th, 1831, the Association met in the Selectmen's 
room and resolved that "an attempt should be made to 
raise the character of the Middlesex Mechanic Associa- 
tion and put it into an active and useful institution." As 
a result the Constitution of 1831 was formed, which so 
broadened the membership conditions as to admit not 
only mechanics but manufacturers. A committee was 
appointed to select a site for a building and to report 



290 OLD residents' historical association. 



plans, and the Association was fairly entered npon its 
renewed lease of life. 

Meanwhile let ns see how far the character and pur- 
poses of the Association as disclosed by the charter and 
Constitution appear to have undergone modification. In 
1828 appears the record of a vote of the Board of Gov- 
errment that "it will not be expedient for the Association 
as a body to unite in the celebration of the national 
anniversarv on the 4th of Julv next," and once or 
t\^'ice afterward the Association appears to have declined 
invitations to jiarticipate. Once or twice they did turn 
out in a body, but it is doubtful if "an appropriate stand- 
ard to be borne in general iH'ocession," as required by 
tlie Constitution, was ever provided. The occasions for 
its use appear to have been very infrequent, and the 
( 'onstitution of 1834 malvcs no mention of it. The annual 
f(-stival appears to have been observed with the proper 
formalities at the first anniversary of the Association. 
AV'arren Oolburn had been invited to become a member 
of the Association and to deliver the annual address, and 
both iuAdtations he accepted. Henry J. Baxter, thc' 
mechanic of the shears and goose, Avas toastmaster for 
the evening. Next vear no observance of the annivi^r- 
sary whatever appears to have been held, and the 
following year, 1828, the Constitution was amended by 
striking out the requirement for a public festival and 
leaving only the provision for an annual address by some 
member of the Association. In that vcar the address 
A^ as delivered b}' Rev. Theodore Edson, who had been 
elected an honorary member in 1827. But the annual 
address itself appears to have been abandoned there- 
after till 1852, when the Government, that being, as we 
shall see, a year of great revival in the life of the Asso- 
ciation, attempted to revive this early feature also, and 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 291 



Homer Bartlett, Esq., Treasurer of the Massachusetts 
Cotton Mills, but at that time still a resident of Lowell 
au<l a member of the Association, delivered an adtlress 
which the records describe as "elegant and erudite," "able 
and interesting." 

To Avhat extent and for how manv years benevolence 
continued to be, what the original Constitution sai<l it 
should be, "a primary and conspicuous object of the Assd- 
ciation," is not entirely clear. In the first years of its 
life the funds at its disposal could not have been large 
enough to make its benevolent work of ver}^ much conse- 
quence, even if Ave could sui^pose that there were many 
occasions for it in the young and lusty life of the thriviug 
little A'illage. Down to 1834 the admittance fee Avas 
but three dollars and the annual assessment at first, one, 
and then tAA^o dollars per year. The membership was 
not large, and, as we have seen, the Association for four 
or five years of its early life Avas in a state of complete 
or partial collapse. The revised Constitution of 183 1 
Avitlidraws the statement that "bencA^olence shall cA'er 
be a primary' and conspicuous object of the Association," 
and reduces the death benefit (to adopt the phraseology 
of the modern fraternal-bencA'olent associations) from 
tAventv dollars to ten, and leaves it discretionary Avith 
the CTOvernment wdiether it shall be paid at all or not. 
A Committee of Relief, howe\'er, is still provided for, and 
the annual appropriation of a sum of money for its 
X)urposes is made mandatory upon the Association, This 
committee, consisting at first of nine members, but soon 
reduced to three, Avas elected Avith unfailing regularity 
till 1S5S, although the Constitution of 1853 abolished the 
committee and omits all reference to benevolence. 

The records show only one api^ropriation for benevo- 
lence such as the Constitution required the Association 
to make annually. It is somcAvhat significant that that 



292 OLD residents' historical association. 



appropi-iatioii was made in the famous hard times year 
of 1837, but as we know that Lowell suffered coinpara- 
tiA-ely little from that purely financial crisis, its falling 
in that year is perhaps a mere coincidence. It seems 
entirely clear, however, that that purpose which the 
jtetition for incoi*i)oration, the charter and the Constitu- 
tion in more than one way declared to be a fundamental 
function of the organization, if it can eyer be considered 
as liying, very early became obsolete.* 

The trayelling certificate provided for by the first 
Constitution for the benefit of members themselves wa;* 
done away with within a few months after the organiza- 
tion of the Association. In its place, however, there 
was provided the apprentice's certificate. Upon appli- 
cation the Association would issue to the person who 
had faithfully served his time as an ai^prentice to any 
member of the Association, a certificate setting forrJi 
that fact, and that A. B., his late master, recommended 
him. The same identical form of certificate was pro- 
vided for by the Constitutions of 1834 and 1853. In the 
record of Dec. Gth, 1827, it is ordered that one hundred 
of these certificates be i)rinted, but neither the records 
nor tradition show how much demand there was for such 
certificates. Indentured apprenticeship, however, was, 
with the rapid growth and consolidation of manufac- 
turing, fast becoming obsolete when the Association Avas 
founded. The law of compulsory apprenticeship had been 
abolished in England in 1814, and before that date 
had been held not to apph^ to corporations. To ,a 
greater extent here than in the old country, individual 
masters were being replaced by corporation employers, 
and the notion that indentured apprenticeship and the 
rules and customs growing out of it were but rules and 
customs tending to restrain the right of free contract was 

*See Note 1. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 293 



even more prevalent liere than there.* It !;•> no unwar- 
ranted inference, therefore, that the apprentice's certifi- 
cate was seldom asked for, and that the constitutional 
provision for it was allowed to stand in the Constitution 
of 1834 and re-enacted in that of 1853 more to perpetuate 
the meniors^ of an ancient custom than because it was a 
living function of the Association. The Massachusetts 
Charitable Mechanic Association Avas and is today an 
association of master mechanics, each in business for 
himself, or (to quote its modern Constitution) "engaged 
in sujierintending or managing the mechanical dej)art- 
ment of joint stock or manufacturing companies." The 
Middlesex Mechanics' Association was founded upon the 
same theory. Its projectors doubtless did not realize 
that the distinction between master and apprentice was 
becoming each year of less and less significance, and was 
soon to give place to quite another distinction, the 
modern distinction between employers and employed. 
The master mechanics of the Association were in the 
main masters only of themselves, in fact, journeymen. 
There w^ere young men learning their trades, but few, if 
any, indentured apprentices. 

Thus much has been said of the personnel and ideas 
of its founders because the adoption of the Constitution 
in 1831 marks an epoch in the Association's history. 
There was then such a change in its membership, and 
had been such a change in its purposes that, although 
the Association as we knew it evolved by a perfectly 
natural process from the original Association, w^e may 
almost say that the Association of 1825 died and that 
the modern Middlesex Mechanics' Association was in 
reality founded in 1831. 

*The Association of Mechanics of the Commonwealth applied for incorporation, im- 
mediately after their organization. The anti-monopolists in the Legislature of that 
day opposed such incorporation, and opposed it successfully till 1806, on the ground that 
the organization was formed solely for the purpose of keeping up the price of Mechanics' 
labor and mechanical products. 



294 OLD residents' historical association. 



We liave noted the unsuccessful attempt to broaden 
its basis of membership in 1830. We cannot doubt that 
the successful attempt of 1834 was due to the gradual 
dropping out of members of the original conservative 
majoritv. Certain it is that after the votes of January 
7th, 1830, directing the Government to hare the library 
and other effects sold and the Association dissolved, no 
new members are recorded. In our search for the 
individuals to whom and the influence to which this 
reorganization or refounding of the Association is due, 
A\'e turn again to the records. The committee who 
drafted the revised Constitution which was adopted were 
Messrs. Abner Ball, Caleb M. Maiwel, William Davis and 
Joel Lewis. The committee to select a suitable site for 
a building and draw plans and submit estimates were 
Messrs. George Brownell, Joel Lewis, Joshua Bailey, 
Joshua Swan, Joseph M. Dodge and Oapt. James Russell. 
Tlie committee to obtain new members were Messrs. 
George Brownell, Benj. Walker, Joel Lewis, James A. 
Tr(nit, Samuel Fisher, Joshua Sw^an, Thomas Billings, 
John Mixer, Elisha Ford, Eli Cooper, Cyrus T. K. Rollins, 
Sylvanus Adams, Sam. B. Goddard, Col. Gushing, 
Walter Wright, David Cook, Jas. A. Chamberlain, 
Jos. M. Dodge, John L. Tripp, Royal Southwick. Most 
of these names are to us, even at the distance of two 
generations, still something more than names. AVarreu 
Colburn, by whose fostering care the Association was 
made to keep at least its legal life, and in whose office 
its effects were now stored, had died in September, 1833. 
Joel Lewis, the surveyor of the Locks and Canals Com- 
pany, whose brief but useful life has been epitomized 
in a memorial* read to this Association by his fellow 
teacher, Joshua Merrill, was elected Treasurer at the 
annual meeting, October 1th, 1831, but died a month 

Contrib. Old Res. Ass'n. Vol. 1, Page 62. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 295 



later. The Association in a bodv attended liis funeral, 
Kov. loth following. To these two men especially, an<l 
to the others whose names have been oiyen, the Associa- 
tion owed its renewed life. It owed it to them directly. 
Indirectly it owed it to that extraordinary body of men 
to whom Lowell itself owed its material existence, and 
wliose parental care for the moral and intellectual condi- 
tion of the people whom the,y called here, aroused the 
admiration of their contenii)oraries and will be remem- 
bered so long as Lowell lasts. 

Tlie new Constitution was adopted, as has been sai<1, 
in February, 1834. In April, a meeting was held in the 
Selectmen's room, which elected a new board of officers, 
and, haying adjourned to the Town Hall, admitted two 
hundred and twenty new members. At this latter 
meeting it was also "yoted that the Goyernment be a 
committee to receiye a deed of a lot of land between 
the Merrimack House and Joel Stone's, Jr., store, on the 
terms offered by the Agent of the Proprietors of the 
Locks and Canals." In May, ninety more new members 
were admitted. The building committee Ayere <lirected 
to begin the building at once, and a subscription paper 
A^as started to raise funds for it. The committee co 
solicit subscriptions sticceeded in raising about -fTOOO. 
There being required to build it, as Ayas estimated, about 
$18,000 to -120,000, according to the style of finish, and 
it being ax^parent that private subsiriptiftn had done all 
that it could do, the various corporations then in exist- 
ence, namely, the Merrimack, Hamilton, Appletou, 
Lowell, Middlesex, Suffolk, Lawrence and Tremont, 
assessed themselves one-fourth of one per cent, on their 
respective capital stocks, and contributed the sum of 
f 14,07.5. It was supposed that this sum would give the 
Association its building free of debt and a considerable 
sum over for the library and philosophical apparatus. 



296 OLD residents' historical association. 



The buikliug was no sooner completed and dedicated, 
however, than it was found necessarj' to borrow |2500 
more, and that debt reduced to |2000 was carried till 1839, 
when the Boott Cotton Mills gave the Association |2500, 
thus extinguishing- the debt and allowing the expendi- 
ture of 1500 for books. The gift of the first-named 
corporations and the previous gift of the lot of land on 
Avhich the building was erected, were made on condition, 
substantially, that on dissolution of the Association or 
its ceasing to perform its functions, the gifts or their 
money value should revert to the donors. After express- 
ing their appreciation of what they rightly termed the 
•'munificent liberality" of the Proprietors of the Locks 
and Canals, the subscription committee in their report 
to the Association on January 3d, 1835, add: ''The 
committee in conclusion cannot refrain from expressing 
tlieir obligations to Kirk Boott, Esq., for his ready 
assistance and careful co-operation. To his advice and 
powerful influence they are largely indebted for the 
success which has attended their efforts." That great 
man was one of the two hundred and twenty admitted in 
April, 1831, and was the Chairman of the Building Com- 
mittee. The building was dedicated Saturday evening, 
September 26th, 1835, with an address by Dr. Elisha 
Bartlett, soon to become the first Mavor of Lowell. 

The change from the Association of 1825 to the Asso- 
ciction of 1831 was, as has been intimated, not a revolu- 
tion, but an evolution. As we have seen the speedy or 
gradual cessation of functions deemed essential by the 
first Constitution, so we expect to find a gradual devel- 
opment of functions apparently deemed secondary by it 
or not mentioned in it at all; in general, its educational 
functions. And, first, of the library. 

The first mention of the library is in the record of 
the meeting of January 1th, 1827, when the following 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 297 



vote Avas passed: "That there be a libraiy established 
for tlie use of the Association, and to accept of Mr. 
Sn'ith's proi^osals respecting his books, and that the 
Secretaiy be authorized to present a subscription paper 
to the members of the Association to procure moneys or 
books for the said library by loan or gift as they may see 
fit." Thomas Billings was made Chairman of a commit- 
tee to draft rules and regulations for the library, and was 
also made librarian. Thomas Billings had been elected 
a member at the last previous meeting. Remember- 
ing that we are for the moment in the period when only 
mechanics were allowed to be members of the Associa- 
tion, it is of interest to note that his "mechanic powers" 
were devoted to book-binding, and that his store or work- 
shop stood near the corner of Central and Market Streets, 
about where Raynes's jewelry store now is.* As we 
have before noticed, the act of incorporation permitted a 
libraiw and the original Constitution entitles the Asso- 
elation a Library Company. Nevertheless, it seems 
probable that the actual initiation of the library two 
years after the incorporation was due rather to the per- 
sonal influence of Billings and Colburn than to the 
founders of the Association. The rules and regulations 
for the libraiy were duly submitted and accepted, and 
a committee to purchase books was chosen, consisting 
of Warren Colburn, Thomas Billings and Bruce Sheppard. 
In a few months Thomas Billings was authorized to 
procure a bookcase for the libraiy. Still a little latei", 
Mr. Smith's books, if we read the records aright, having 
been originally lent, Avere now purchased, and Mr. 
Billings is directed to "examine and inquire the price of 
a cyclopedia that is in Chelmsford Library,! or at other 

*Contrib. Old Res. Ass'n. Vol. Ill, Page 423. 

tAllen's History of of Chelmsford (1820) (p 60) says, "the Social Library contains 32 
volumes. Among which is Doctor Rees' Cyclopaedia, the most valuable and expensive 
work ever printed in this country." 



298 OLD residents' historical ASSOCIATION'. 



places, and report at the next meetin<>/' and subse- 
quently he was authorized to offer |25 for a set of the 
Edinburgh Encyclopedia. In the sprint of 1828 it was 
voted to alter, as we have before noticed, the second sec- 
tion of the third article of the Constitution so far as to 
arnul the practice of having a supper at the annual 
meeting, and appropriate the sum of money that the fes- 
tival would cost to the purchase of books for the 
enlargement of the library, or to defray- the expense of 
lectures and give each member a ticket. Possibly the 
latter object secured the preference, for we note shortly 
after a direction to the lecture committee to see that 
each member of the Association have a ticket to tlie 
lectures, and the appointment of a committee to make 
such additions to the library as the funds of the Associa- 
tion will admit. One of the few acts of the Government 
of the Association during the four years of suspended 
animation just preceding the new Constitution was to 
direct that the librarv be moved to Mr. Warren Oolburn's 
counting room, and that Mr. Thomas Billings be paid 
six dollars a vear for taking charge of the librarv. With 
the enlargement of the Association, the adoption of the 
new Constitution in 1834, and the completion of the 
building, begin the regular appro^jriations for the 
libraiy, in amount varying from flOO to flOOO a year, 
and the employment of a regular librarian and the elec- 
tion ever^' vear of a committee on the librarv and rea'i- 
ing room. The library received a donation of JflOOO 
from Abbott Lawrence, one or two small bequests and 
rnanv gifts of monev and verv numerous gifts of books 
from friends both at home and abroad. The salary (-f 
the librarian in the new building was at first flOO, but 
this was soon judged to be too much, and it was reduced 
to .f!250. In addition to his salary, however, he was for 
many years given the privilege of sleeping in the room 




,«..,M^.-»i=awj;^;:" j^,ii-wj»«o»..M». — -_■, 






00^^' 






/I 



MECHANICS HALL. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 299 



cortainiiig the pliilosopliical apparatus, "provided he 
occupied a sofa-bed." The sahiry was <>TaduallY raised 
till at its hiji'hest it was |T50. The Association prided 
itself oil the character of its books and endeavored to 
make the library a useful one to its members. There Js 
no reason to question the claim made for it in a report 
(tj be alluded to later) of a committee submitted in 1848, 
that it was one of the best in the country. 

The readini>- room was established in 1837, a legis- 
lative amendment* to the charter havin<>' been obtained 
to permit it. It was for many years mainly stocked with 
nevvspapers. The day of scientific periodicals had not 
yet arrived. The ponderous English reviews belon«>,ed 
to a literarv rather than to a mechanics' associatiou, 
but newspapers from Portland to New Orleans served to 
keep the members in touch witli the current life of the 
whole country. It is interesting to note in passin*;- that 
as late as April 5th, 1861, the (xoverninent approved a 
bill of |5 for one year's subscription to the Charleston 
Mercury. 

With the library and readinjn' room, two other edu- 
cational features were established and fostered, the 
collection of i)hil()sopliical api)aratus, and the mainte- 
nance of scientific lectures. The Association of 1831 
apparently thought it had no rii>ht to expend its money 
for lectures, for it procured the insertion in the chart *^r 
aiiiendinent of 1837, just noticed, of a provision author- 
izinjj;' it to expend the income also in "emplnyiiii; persons 
to instruct the members b}' lectures or otherwise in the 
various arts and sciences." Both lectures and apparatus, 
however, ante-dated the reoroanization of 1831. In the 
winter of 1827-28 AYarren Colburn delivered by request 
of the Association a course of scientific lectures, to which 
persons mi<>ht be admitted for a single evening by 



*Acts of 1837, Chap. 64. 



oOO OLD residents' historical association. 



payiDg one shilling at the door, and members of the 
Association who hold tickets for the lecture ''shall have 
the pi'iyilege of taking in a friend not belonging to this 
town." Mr. Colburn made no charge for his lectures, but 
ih'i Association expressed its appreciation of his serviee.s 
hy making him a member for life and giving him a vote 
oC thanks. The original plan was to have lectures 
throughout the year once in two weeks. Various votes 
to that effect were passed, and fur a time certainly, after 
Mr. Oolburn's course was concluded, such lectures were 
had. But in the spring of 1829 it was voted to discon- 
tinue them, and none were given thereafter till the new 
building was occupied. 

That the maintenance of a pbvsical laboratoiw or 
collection of instruments illustrating the laws of pliysics 
ami astronomy had been early recognized as a propi.-r 
function of the Association is shown by the vote already 
noticed, doubtless passed at his suggestion, directing 
Mr. Colburn to import a circle of reflection and an artiii- 
cial horizon, and by the fact that in the interregnuiu 
between 1830 and 1831 the philosophical apparatus, as 
it was called, was collected and stored in the Merrimack 
Counting Room. In the new building a mom was 
allotted to the apparatus, and from that time till 1870, 
i'lie frequent allusions to it in the way of appropriations 
for it and additions to it, and the choice annually f.>r 
many years of a committee on apparatus, show that it 
wa:^ looked on as an essential feature of the educational 
work of the Association. The change and growth iu 
educational methods, however, have made such collec- 
tions of little value outsi<le of schools and colleges; no 
additions to it were made ai)pareiitly after 1800. In 1859 
the Natural ITistorv Societv, which had been organized 
in 1836,* but had now for some time ceased to hold 

*It had a room assigned to it in the Asscciation biiildin<j which was known as the 
National History room. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 301 



meetings, gave to the Association its collection of 
minerals, and Mr. Oliver M. Whipple added to it a large 
portion of his collection of Indian and other relics. In 
1872 the Whipple Cabinet (as these collections were 
called) and the philosophical apparatus were given in 
charge of the Committee on Science and Education, aud 
that committee was given authority to exchange dupli- 
cates. Portions of both collections were, at one time 
and another, lent to the High School, of which it is to 
be feared not all were returned. At the dissolution of 
the Association a considerable portion of the Whipple 
Cabinet was found in its allotted place, but the philo- 
sophical apparatus had entirely disappeared. 

The scientific lectures were resumed in 1835 with a 
course given by Prof. Farrar of Har\'ard Cbllege. 
Another course was given in 1836. In July, 1837 (the 
year the charter was amended so as to allow a reading 
room and scientific lectures, and the year, too, of the 
great financial depression), appears the significant vote 
"Til at in the present state of the funds of the Associa- 
tion it is inexpedient to procure a course of lectures the 
coming winter." In 1838 a motion that |250 be api)ro- 
priated for lectures was not carried. Other attempts 
were made, but not until the winter of 1845-46 were the 
lectures resumed, when a course of twelve lectures was 
given, six by Dr. C. F. Jackson, which may be assumed 
to have been scientific lectures, and six bv Rev. Henrv 
Giles, which were announced to be on miscellaneous 
subjects. Mr. Giles may have been a clergyman with 
scientific tastes, but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion 
that here Avas the beginning of the gradual evolution 
which changed the scientific lecture course into the 
mc'dern lyceuni. At all events, the change may be con- 
sidered as fairly under way the following year, when the 
course consisted of twelve lectures, the first two by 



302 OLD residents' historical association. 



Fletcher Webster, Esq., on China, the next one by Dr. 
C. F. Jackson, on the natural histoiy and chemical 
properties of water, the next two bv Prof. Wvman v)f 
Canibridiie (subjects not p,iven), and the remainino- seven 
by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Es(i., (it is pleasant to repro- 
duce the careful courtesy of the Recording- SecretarA- of 
that day) on Representative Men. Tickets for the course 
wd'e one dollar. In June, 1847, the Government vot?d 
an appropriation of .fSOO for lectures, and directed the 
Committee on Public Instruction to report at tlie next 
qi'arterly meetinj>' of the Association, but the committer 
failed so to report, and it does not appear that any 
lectures were given. In 1848 the consideration of tiie 
subject of a course of lectures for the coining winter 
was indefinitely postponed. From that time on the 
sr.biect of a. course is not referred to in the records till 
1854. In April of that year it was voted to give a course 
of popular scientific lectures the coming winter, and it 
appears that Dr. Solger of Boston gave four such lec- 
tures in March and April of 1855. In 185() the (loveru- 
mcnt was directed to nominate a lecture committee 
("providing Huntington Hall* can be secured") and that 
committee to provide a course of lectures. From that 
time on for over twentv vears the Association gave an 
annual course of lectures, the courses containing after a 
while a diminishing proportion of scientific lectures, but 
alwavs maintaining a verv hi<>li standard, as Ivceuni 
courses. That tliev ever ceased was due to no fault of 
the Association, but to the fact that the lyceum itself, 
at first weakened by the jjartial substitution of con- 
certs** and "entertainments," so called, for lectures, 
ultimatelv died a natural death. In 1872 the lecture 
C(.mmittee was instructed to omit the scientific lectures 



♦Finished in 1855. 
**See Note 2. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 303 



from the popular course, aud it was voted that the |300 
received from the corporations shouhi be devoted to a 
special course under mauagemeut of the Committee on 
Science and Education. 

The lyceuui course has been spoken of as a develop- 
ment from the scientific courses, but it must not be 
sup]K)sed that from the time of Warren Colburu's lectures 
to 1856 the citv was without a lyceum and patientlv 
waiting* the movements of the Middlesex Mechanics' 
Association. There were many organizations, of greater 
or less i)ermanenc3^, maintaining lecture courses. Such 
were the Lowell Lyceum, the Literary Adelphi, the Lowell 
Intititute, the Washington Athenaeum. It is to be 
remembered, too, that down to 1851 the membership was 
lin^ited to mechanics and manufacturers, and consistency, 
to say nothing of the charter amendment of 11^37, 
required that its educational work should be limited to 
that which was of special value to them. And though, 
as we have seen, the general literary' element began to 
creep into the lectures before 1851, it is very probable 
tliat the broadening of the membership, the taking in of 
the traders and professional men, who had hitherto con- 
stituted the membership of the lyceum associations, the 
change of the Association after 1851 from a mechanics' 
and mill people's association to a general citizens' asso- 
ciation, was largely the cause as well as the occasion of 
its becoming the chief, if not the only, h'ceum organiza- 
tion in the city. 

The Association gave four mechanics' exhibitions, 
in 1851, 1857, 1867 and 1887. It does not appear that 
thi Association ever carried out the provision of the 
original Constitution, repeated in that of 1834, author- 
izing them to offer premiums for individual workmanship. 
The Constitution of 1851 omits the jirovision and substi- 
tutefi for it an authority to give exhibitions, and the 



304 OLD residents' historical association. 



Association at once proceeded to act upon it. The exhi- 
bition of that year was given in a temporary building 
erected for the purpose in the Lowell Machine Shop yard, 
a two-stoiy building of rough timber, the machineiy and 
heary products being shown on the first floor, the lighter 
articles, with a picture gallery, filling the upper story. 
Although it resulted in only a slight money gain to the 
Association, it was one of the most "successful that had 
ever been held in this countiy up to that time. It was 
famous for an exhibition and trial of the speed and 
drawing strength of locomotives.* 

The exhibition of 1857 was held in Huntington, 
Jackson, Mechanics' and Merrimack** Halls. It came 
in a year of great financial and manufacturing depres- 
sion, in which Lowell suffered with the rest of the 
countiy, and the wisdom of holding it was much ques- 
tioned; but when we consider that in face of the hard 
times the exhibition netted about |G00, it must 
be pronounced an unqualified success. The exhi- 
bition of 1SG7 was held in Huntington, Jackson and 
Mechanics' Halls, with the machinery exhibition in a 
temporary building, called Machinery Hall, which stood 
on Shattuck Street adjoining Huntington Hall, on the 
lot of land now occupied by Boutwell Bros.' store. It 
was by far the most successful of the four, having netted 
the Association about |2800. The fourth and last, that 
of 1887, which was limited in its scope to an exhibition 
of Lowell products, was held in the then just completed 
Talbot Building on Middle Street, with an art exhibition 
in Mechanics' Hall. Whatever may be said of it as an 
exhibition, it was not a financial success, and must be 
recorded as having extinguished entirely the fund accu- 
mulated by the three previous exhibitions. 

*See Note 3. 
**Now Music Hall. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 



305 



The Constitution of 1834 made the admission fee 
fi'2o and attempted to give to the membership certificate 
some of the characteristics of a share in a joint stock 
company. The system was such, however, as to carry 
all the disadvantages and none of the advantages of a 
coiiwration of shareholders. The share couhl be trans- 
ferred, but only to some person Avho should be duly 
elected a member, and the corporation itself could elect 
onlv a mechanic or a manufacturer. The Association 
unwisely bound itself to redeem at four-fifths of its value 
the share of any one who severed his membership. 
Theoretically, the number of shares was not limited, but 
so long as the system was retained, the number of 
shareholders did not increase above the number at the 
dedication of the new building (about three hundred), but 
on the contrary steadily diminished till 1851, when the 
membership Avas about one hundred and eighty. The 
price of the shares was then reduced to |12.50,* thus 
making each existing shareholder the owner of two 
shares. While this gave each member an additional 
incentive to add to the membership, the system was 
proved to be unsatisfactory, and six years later the admit- 
tance fee was reduced to $6, existing members were 
given a year to dispose of their extra membership 
certificate, and the shares then ceased to be redeem- 
able or transferable, and in fact w^ere no longer shares. 

We have already noticed that as early as 1830 the 
proposition was favorably reported, but voted down, to 
make all respectable persons eligible for membership. 
In 1845 a similar proposition was favorably reported, but 
failed to receive the three-fourths vote necessaiy for its 



*This was clone April 3, 1851 at the same meeting at whicli the constitution was altered 
so as to admit all citizens to membership. 



306 OLD residents' historical association. 



adoption.* In 1848 the same proposition was referred 
to a committee consisting of B. F. French, Samuel W. 
Blown, and Alexander Wright. That committee sub- 
mitted an exceedingly forcible and clearly written report 
opjosing the change. The report in full is spread upon 
the records. Substantially, the ground of the committee's 
opposition was that the Association held its prop:iity, 
its building, librars^, apparatus and pictures, in trust, 
that trust being defined by the charter (as amended by 
act of 1837) and Constitution (of 1831), which afltirmed 
that the institution was for the use and benefit <.f 
mechanics and manufacturers. To the suggestion that 
th ^ Association might not benefit mechanics and manu- 
facturers any less if it benefited the general community 
nvore, they reply: "When men engaged in different occu- 
l)iitions and actuated by different tastes and habits are 
ir.vited to become members and pay their money, they 
will acquire an equal claim upon the Association to have 
their peculiar views and interests consulted with the 
oi'iginal members, and there is no reason to suppose that 
tJiey will fail to enforce their rights. Under such cir 
ciimstances it will be difficult for the Association to 
refuse their demands, even should they insist, for wait 
of a better method to procure books, that a portion of 
those already on hand (being devoted to mechanics as 
they principally are) should be sold or exchanged and 
others of a more popular and miscellaneous character or 
better adapted to their wants and tastes, be substituted 
for them. Other alterations may be needed to adapt the 
Association to its new destination, and by the time these 
iire all made the Middlesex Mechanic Association, which 

*The proposition was to admit all persons to membership, retaining, however, a proviso 
that a majority of the government should always consist of mechanics and manufact- 
urers. "It requiring three-quarters to adopt said amendments, on a vote to adopt the 
ccunt was, in the affirmative 42, in the negative 20. so the amendments were rejected." 
(Records of July 3, 1845). 



iMIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 307 



is one of the brightest ornaments of Lowell, and shonld 
be a snbject of pride to eveiy operative, will lose those 
distinctive features which to his e3'es impart its i^eculiar 
charm." The committee fear also that "when the doors 
are opened wide enongh to admit gentlemen of all occu- 
pations and professions, it would not be strange if the 
operative mechanic, instead of finding himself sur- 
rounded by his familiar associates, should be left in a 
minority and feel overshadowed by the presence of those 
with whom for want of congeniality of pursuits he finds 
it difficult to sympathize." While the report objects 
that the change Avould be a breach of trust, and calls 
attention to the fact that the donors to the Associa- 
tion were not asking or suggesting that the change 
should be made, it is not apparent or probable that as 
a matter of fact the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals 
were exerting or wishing to exert anj- infiuence on the 
Association's policy. The strongest argument indeed 
was not this moral one, but the two jiractical ones; and 
A\'hile no books of value to mechanics were ever sold to 
enable the Association to broaden the literary character 
of the library, the library did, when the inevitable change 
came, a few years later, undoubtedly become less 
specialized, and the operative mechanics not only 
quickly came to be in a minority, but many of them long 
felt that fact with keen regret. Nevertheless, the change 
came in 1851, and without ai)pareut opposition. The 
report of 1848 was at that time accepted, and the matter 
might well have been thought utterlv dead. By what 
n^ajority the report of 1851 was accepted, or if indeed 
there was any opposition to it, the records do not say. 
In 1851, the records of regular and special meetings are 
liberally sprinkled with votes in regard to the coming 
Mechanics' Exhibition, one of them being a vote "that 
the obligation signed bv fortv-one of the citizens of 



308 OLD residents' historical association. 



Lowell, guaraiiteeiug- the Association from loss to the 
amount of |2000 in case they should hold a fair the 
ensuing autumn, be accepted." Possibly the fact tliat 
these ouarantors were not all members of the Association 
suggested that the Association's manifest dependence on 
other citizens than operative mechanics and manufac- 
turers in their yeiw important undertaking, was a valid 
reason why citizens generally should be eligible to mem- 
bership. At all events, at the meeting of April 3il, 1851^ 
at which the foregoing vote was passed, appears also the 
report of a committee consisting of Dr. S. L. Dana, Julian 
Abbott* and Walter Wright, and in compliance with 
their report the bydaws were altered by striking out die 
AA'ords "mechanic and manufacturer" and inserting in 
place thereof the word "person," and by striking out 
entirely Section 2 of Article 1, to wit: "This Association 
shall consist of mechanics and manufacturers." 

The alteration of the Constitution in 1851 so as to 
admit all citizens to full membership; the gradual reduc- 
tion in the admission fee and abolition of shares; the 
giving in 1851 of a most successful exhibition, and the 
inauguration in 1856 of the modern annual lyceum 
course, marked the beginning of the third, and by far 
the most prosperous and generally useful, period in the 
life of the Association. For thirty years it ministered 
to tbe intellectual life of the whole city. It experienced 
in that period no essential change. The membership by 
1860 was upwards of eight hundred, and there were then 
"eighty females entitled to the privileges of the library."^ 
The lecture courses Avere increasingly i>opular, and the 
Civil War, Avhile for two seasons it diminished their 
profitableness, did not in the end diminish their popu- 
laritA'. The libraiw contained in 1860 about ten thou- 



*See Note 4. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 309 



sand volumes, and maintained a stead}" growth till the 
day its doors were finally closed, when it numbered 
twenty-flye thousand yolumes. Financially, too, the 
Association seems to haye been continually i)rosperous. 
The first three exhibitions, as has been said, were 
exceedingly successful, and that of 1867 left the Asso- 
ciation with a total fund to its credit of about |35C0, 
Ayliich was dedicated as a fund to be used for the erection 
of a permanent building in which to hold exhibitions. 
It was called the Exhibition Fund. The lecture courses 
also were, in their prime, a source of profit, and that 
profit was used immediately for the good of the 
Association. 

At length, however, influences began to operate for 
which the Association was in no wise responsible, but 
which were to affect it most seriously. The Ciyil War 
was the cause, or, at all events, the war x)eriod and the 
period following it were the occasion of a great social 
upheaval, affecting in many Avays, as we all know, the 
popular tastes and habits. The day of the Mechanics' 
Exhibition, drawing its patronage from a provincial city 
and surrounding towms, departed when the Centennial 
Exhibition oi)ened in Philadelphia in 1876. As for the 
lyceum, it may be the multiplication of theatres, the 
grow^th of comic opera and the variety show, the increase 
and cheapening of books and magazines, the alleged 
deterioration in the intellectual character of our people; 
it may be all of these causes, or neither of them, that 
killed it, but certainly the lyceum of thirty or forty years 
ago is dead. The free public library has in the last 
twenty-five years made enormous progress and improve- 
ment. Locally, the only thing that enabled the 
Mechanics' Library to compete at all with our well- 
nmnaged and increasingly useful City Library has been 
the fact that the former was always able to allow its 



310 OLD residents' historical association. 



patrons free access to the shelves; and that privilege was 
only possibk^ from the ver^' fact that its i)atrons were 
comparatively few and not increasing in numbers. The 
impossibility of making anything except a loss from 
exhibitions or lecture courses made the Association, in 
spite of itself, a "libraiy company" pure and simple. In 
its attempt to support itself as such the Association 
failed. 

In 1870 the growth of the library and the general 
condition of the building had rendered it necessary to 
make extensive alterations and repairs. The library 
room and reading room were both enlarged, the hall was 
renovated and a steam heating apparatus was put in. 
To pay for these alterations and repairs a considerable 
amount was borrowed. By 1880 the Association had lost 
its two best tenants, Josiah Gates & Sons and O. B. 
Coburn & (V)., and never replaced them. Shortly after, 
the space hitherto occupied by the stores was converted 
into ante-rooms and a supper room, except that one 
rentable store was left, and a new entrance from Button 
Street was made. The money to make these alterations 
also was borrowed. The debt contracted by the repairs 
of 1870 had not been extinguished and the repairs of 
1882 added to it, and hereafter the ominous vote, author- 
izing the Treasurer to borrow or to renew notes, regu- 
larly appears. On February 29th, 1881, the Directors 
of the Proprietors of the Locks and Oanals on MeiTiinack 
River voted that that corporation Avould "i)ay one-half 
the existing debt of the Association, it being understood 
that said debt does not exceed foGOO, provided the other 
half be raised by the Association by pri\''ate subscrip- 
tion." March (itli, 1888, the debt-raising committee 
reported as the result of their efforts the sum of f 1239.58, 
less than half the required amount, and it was voted 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 311 



that the amount raised be applied toward the extinguisli- 
nieiit of the funded debt of the Association. 

This attempt and failure to extinonish the debt of 
the Association mark the be«>iunin<i' of the end. The 
few remaining? years of its life it is neither interesting 
nor ])rolitable to trace. It is sufficient to say that the 
debt steadily increased and that on November 5th, 1896, 
the Association, on i)etition of two of its unsecured 
creditors, was adjud<;ed insolvent, and inside eighteen 
months its property was disposed of and its debts paid 

in full. A few of the books of the library were sold to 
the First Trinitarian Congregational Church to serA'e as 
the nucleus of a Sundav School Library, and the 
remainder were sold through a book auctioneer in 

Boston, The six large portraits* were sold to the City 
of Lowell and now adorn and dignify the walls of the 
City Hall and of Memorial Building. The tine portrait 
of James B. Francis, which had hung in the hall for 
nmny years, was the property of the Proprietors of the 
Locks and Canals, and was given by them to the city at 
the same time. The building was sold to the First Trini- 
tarian Congregational Church, and Avitli it the few 
remaining articles of jjersonal property, including the 
Whipple Cabinet and the i^ortraits of Webster, of Dr. 
Bartlett and of Dr. Huntington, 

The dissolution of the Association was a source of 
profound sorrow to the community, even to many who 
never were members. Yet with many, perhaps Avith 
most of our peoph^ their interest in and attachment to 
the Association was based on sentimental rather than 
practical grounds. The very fact that it Avas allowed to 
die shows this. It is easy to say that if at this or that 
period of its histoiy this or that thing had been done or 
left undone, the institution might have survived, but it 

*See Note 5. ' 



312 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



seems to me that a candid consideration of the condition 
of the Association and, more especially, of the general 
social conditions of the comninnitv, must satisfy ns that 
it had outlived its usefulness. We must reo-ret indeed 
most keenly the undignified manner of its taking off, 
but it must be admitted that it had ceased to perform 
any function clearly necessary or eyen greatly useful for 
the well being of the community. As has been pointed 
out, it had come to be simply a private library company, 
and when Aye consider on the one hand the tremendous 
improyemeut that has taken place in free public libraries, 
in our own city not less than elsewhere, and the tendency, 
eyen in cities larger and wealthier than ours, to combine 
libraries, and on the other hand that our people are 
wholly a practical, working people to whom a large 
l^riyate library is at most only a luxury, it must be 
admitted that its demise was only a matter of time. We 
are led also to the same conyiction if we consider the 
career of a few of its contemporaries. 

Of four institutions which may be mentioned as 
similar to and substantially contemporary in their origin 
with the Middlesex Mechanics' Association, three still 
sur\aye: the parent, the Massachusetts Charitable 
Mechanic Association (1806), the Salem Charitable 
Mechanic Association (1820), and the Worcester County 
Mechanics' Association (1842). Xeither of these three 
ever experienced the second eyolution which ours experi- 
enced in 1851. They are still limited in membership to 
mechanics and manufacturers. In each case, too, the 
charitable feature is still retained. In the Boston insti- 
tution nearly |200,000 has been spent since its foundation 
in aid to the destitute, mainly Ayidows of deceased mem- 
bers, and in death benefits; but in the Salem and 
Worcester institutions the work is limited to paying a 
small fix(Ml sum at the death of a member. In each cas3 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION, 



813 



the library is small. In Boston twenty 3-ears ago it ntnii- 
bered onl}' two thousand yoliimes and Avas stored in a 
room to which members had access when they wished it. 
A sort of annex known as the Mechanics' Apprentices' 
Association had a somewhat larger library, but it has 
ceased to be of significance. The Worcester library 
numbers thirteen thousand volumes, and the Salem about 
flft^^-five hundred. The Salem association lias not had 
lectures for many 3'ears, The Worcester association has 
a few lectures and entertainments and supports an 
evening drawing class. It owns a large and beautiful 
hall with a smaller hall adjoining, and has a funded debt 
of about 130,000. It has about twelve hundred mem- 
bers. The Salem association has about a hunlred. 
Its Secretary savs of the latter: "While not declining, 
a time must soon come when it will decline, principally 
on account of our public library." All three of them, 
like ours, in their day gaVe mechanics' exhibitions, but 
the function alone survives in the Massachusetts asso- 
ciation. The Boston association formerly maintained 
courses of lectures and evening classes for instruction in 
branches useful to mechanics, but in regard to them and 
the libraries a recent historian of the association says: 
"An entire change has taken place. ... In the evo- 
lution of the customs of the times, they have each and all 
entirely ceased. . . . From the smallest beginnings 
our exhibitions have grown to be of the largest propor- 
tions. Had it not been for these we could not have 
accumulated our present property, for our income in no 
single vear in the form of admission fees and dues has 
been sufficient to pay our charities."* 

Another similar association, the Rumford Institute 
of ^^^altham, was founded in 1826. From its early years 

♦Preface to 1895 edition of by-laws of Mass. Cliaritable \recb. Ass'n. 



314 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



it received the material assistance of tlie Boston Manii- 
factiirinii' Conipany, whose influential members were the 
men who founded Lowell, and in 1834 put the Middlesex 
Mechanics' Association on its feet. They gave the Insti- 
tute rooms in the Kuinford Building, gave it the begin- 
nings of its library; and the Institute itself, beginning 
with sci(^ntific lectures for the benefit of the members, 
develo})e(l into a lycenni. On the founding of the 
Waltham Public Library in 1805, the Institute gave its 
library to the public library, abandoned its h'ceum as it 
ceased to be wanted, and, having no functions remaining 
to ])erform, soon after died a natural death. 

Had our Association been richlv endowed it would 
of course have survived as a corporation, and doubtless 
have found some work to do in the community, but the 
Avork which it was intended to do in 1825, in 1834, in 
]8(i0, no longer needed to be done, or was better done 
by other agencies. Of its work as an educator of 
mechanics and mill operatives, Mr. 8. X. D. North, in his 
address at the opening of the Lowell Textile School,* 
said: "The builders of Lowell had certain high ideas 
about the welfare of the people whom they gathered 
together here — ideas which do even greater credit to their 
character than the mills thev built. . . . Tliev exer- 
cised over them a sor-t of paternal guardianship long 
since outgrown. The i)ublic school system has so devel- 
oped and extended that it supplies all the educational 
facilities required. . . , In its day and in its way the 
old Mechanics' Association was of inestimable benelit 
to the mill-workers, just as were the similar institutions 
which existed in England, and which are ])assing away 
by the o])eration of like causes. Nothing so well illus- 
trates the fact that we are living in an age of great and 

*Jan. 30th, 1897. Tbe address is in the Bulletin of N. A. Wool Manfrs. for March IS-Or. 




Lir.kARV, Dutton Street Side. 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 315 



rai»i<l cliaiiges, than the slipping out of our industrial life 
of that whicli it is necessary to replace by something 
better. That something better is technical industrial 
education." Of the educational work it did for the 
whole communifv as a Ivcenm, Miss Whittier, in her 
address at the opening of llie new apartments of the 
Middlesex Women's Club,* said : "The dissolution of the 
time-honored Middlesex Mechanics' Association and the 
passing of Mechanics' Hall are events notably coincident 
^itli the rise of the Middlesex Women's Club and the 
erection of this auditorium. But these events may not 
be classed as cause and effect; they are rather the results 
of forces which, have been long in operation and which 
have iK'lped to bring in a new era — the Woman's Era, 
shall Ave call it? — in which woman has caught up the 
torch of culture, and by organization and practical w^ork 
is fitting herself for leadership in the army of progress. 
It marks this new era, the fact that public lecturers an<l 
h'ceum bureaus now look to women's clubs as their 
richest field; that philanthropists, sociologists and edu- 
cators now appeal to the woiuan's club as one of the 
strongest infiuences in the community." 

This article, however, is not concerned with the 
future social or educational development of our cit}', and 
these quotations are made merely to emphasize what has 
been said in explanation of the decline of the Association. 
So, too, of the rise and increase of trade and labor 
unions, of social clubs and secret societies, of fraternal- 
benevolent organizations and organized charities — there 
is need only to mention them in connection with what has 
already been said, to show that our venerable Association 
was based on an entirely different social condition from 
that Avhich now exists. 

*Oct. 3, 1898. 



316 OLD residents' historical association. 



Of the three simUar institutions which still survive 
wo have noted that they never admitted any but 
mechanics and manufacturers, and there is to be added 
that thev never received the extensive aid from outside 
sources that the Lowell and Waltham associations 
received, and also the well-known fact that in each city 
the proportion of independent mechanics and manu- 
facturers to those under the employ of great corporations 
is larger than in Lowell or Waltham. Anv or all of 
these circumstances may account for their surviving 
longer than the Lowell association, or may not; but we 
may be very sure that if the committee of 1848, whose 
adverse report has been commented on and quoted from, 
Avere here today, they would hear with but little patience 
an attempt to explain the Association's decline by gen- 
< ral causes; they would without doubt look on its 
decline and fall, while others still survive, as proof positive 
of the wisdom of their views and the correctness of their 
prophecies as to what would happen if the change they 
dreaded was made. 

This sketch has concerned itself mainly with the 
Association as an institution. Of the many men who, in 
its infancy, in its youth, and in its prime, gave to it their 
l^ersonal influence, their interest and their earnest, 
aggressive work, little or nothing has been said. I have 
spoken of the institution as evol\ing,as molded by circum- 
stances, as adapting itself to its surroundings, of its func- 
ti(ms as developing or becoming obsolete or being 
modified. To sj^eak adequateh^ of the members whose 
jjersonality made it what it was, of their relation to it and 
to the community, would be to write a book. Recall the 
names of those whom you know as having lived here for 
any considerable period during the last seventy years and 
as having been men of influence in the community; there 
are few of them wlio were not at some time a-tive, inter- 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 317 



ested members of the Middlesex Mechanics' Associatiim. 
Its records are a cenotaph of the men who molded and 
made Lowell. 

NOTE ONE 

In the record of the meeting of January Tth, 1830, 
the dark day in the Association's history, there appears 
a statement submitted by the Gorernment of "moneys 
l^aid out of the funds of the Association." It is fair to 
assume from its form and the circumstances under which 
it was submitted, that it was intended as a summary 
statement of expenditures and of the receipts of the 
Association during the first five years of its existence. 
The statement is as follows: 

For Library and Bookcase. !ii!l76.37 

Apparatus 70. 

Plate and Seal 162.50 

Diplomas 22.38 

Tables, Chairs, Benches, Lamps, etc 16.57 

Secretary's services 31. 

Repairing schoolhouse. 14. 

Lighting, Lecture room, etc 16.82 

Printing • 31.75 

Stationery 32.95 

Total of Expenditures §574.34 

Remaining in Treasury $64.00 

*' " Collector's hands. 11.50 

75.50 

Total Amount of receipts 8649.84 

In October, 1830, it was "voted to suspend assess- 
ments to next meeting," and at the "next meeting," 
whicli was not held till October, 1832, a similar vote was 
passed, and on January 29th, 1833, it was voted to appoint 
a committee to collect funds to defray the expenses of 
the Association, In the statement given, therefore, it is 
evident that we have an account of the total receipts and 
expenditures of the coi'poration for the first nine years 



318 OLD residents' historical association. 



of its life, and that no part of it was spent for charity. 
It does not follow, however, that no money was so dis- 
bnrsed by the Association. It may have been raised by 
private subscription, as Avas the case in the early years 
of the Massachnsetts Charitable Mechanic Association. 

In 1851 Mrs. , widow of one of the earlv members 

who was prominent in the reorganization of 1831, "having 
been mentioned as a suitable subject for relief, it was 
voted to refer the matter to the Government," though at 
the same meeting at which the Vote was passed the usual 
Committee on Eelief had just been elected. The Gov- 
ernment records do not show any action taken on the 
matter, and I do not And elsewhere in the records other 
votes of this nature. If any have been overlooked it is 
certain that thev were not common. 

^'OTE TWO 

The introduction of concerts into the Middlesex 
Mechanics' Association courses in the season of 1801-65 
met with considerable opposition from members of the 
Association, but the action of the lecture committee was 
formalh' endorsed at the annual meeting in 1865. They 
Avere continued and the committee thereafter was always 
called the Committee on Lectures and Concerts. It 
must be admitted that if their introduction was a mark 
of deterioration in the intellectual character of the 
courses, at all events it met a then popular demand and 
M'as a good move financially. The net receipts for the 
eight years succeeding the change more than doubled 
those for the eight preceding years. From 1856 to 1^64 
inclusive they amounted to |2718.90; from 1805 to 1872 
inclusive, to |6965.33. During the first two years of 
the CiA'il War the profits Avere exceedingly small, for the 
winter of 1801-02 being |57.35, for 1802-63 being |76.9S. 
The aAerage annual lecture income from 1861-65 to 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 319 



1871-72 was |870.G7. The season of lS<;9-70 was the 
most successful ever experienced, but that of 1870-71 
marks the beginning of a rapid decline, and at a special 
meeting held April 20th, 1878, the Association formally 
abandoned the lyceum by striking out from the list of 
standing committees required by the by-laws the 
Committee on Lectures and Concerts. The scientific 
lectures were still left in charge of the Committee on 
Science and Education, but were not long continued. 
One or two attempts were made in the dying years of 
the Association to revive the lyceum, but, though the 
courses given were excellent, the financial results only 
old-time Ivceum could no longer attract its old-time 
served to emphasize the statement already made that the 
audience. i 

:note three 

The building stood in the northerly corner of the 
Macliine Shop yard and was approached by a bridge 
which in those davs and till about thirtv vears ago 
crossed the Merrimack Canal from the foot of Mechanics' 
Street, now Broadway. The speed trial of locomotives 
took place on the Boston and Lowell Railroad, the 
course being from the fifteenth to the twenty-fourth mile 
post, counting from Boston, and the constant load out- 
side the locomotive and tender, consisting of cars, 
freight and twenty-one passengers, was eighty-five tons. 
The trial of freight engines was made on the branch 
track running from the Boston and Lowell road to the 
Boston and Maine at Wilmington, a distance of ninety- 
one hundred feet. The load consisted of one hundred and 
fourteen loaded cars estimated to weigh, cars included, 
six hundred and fiftv tons. "Each engine first backed 
this train down to the starting point, which was at the 
top (bottom?) of an inclined plane of fourteen feet to the 



320 OLD residents' historical association. 



mile; and from this point they started at a given signal, 
making their best time to the point at the other extremity 
of the branch." (Report of judges.) Seven passenger 
engines comi)eted in the speed trial and three fi eight 
engines in the draught trial. The official reports of the 
exhibitions of 1851, 1857 and 1867 are to be found, bound 
in one volume, in the Citv Librarv. 

NOTE FOUR 

Mr. Abbott was a graduate of Harvard College (1826) 
and Divinity School (1830), preached a few times, and 
soon became and continued all his life to be a law;\'er. 
He was admitted a regular member of the Association 
in April, 1845, a few months before the proposition of 
that year to broaden the membership failed to receive 
the necessary three-fourths vote. He had never been a 
mechanic or manufacturer, and was clearly ineligible to 
membership, but no objection to him appears to have 
been raised either in the Government or the Association. 
Other persons, clerks, bank cashiers and the like, who 
were admitted before 1851, were apparently ineligible to 
membership, but it is impossible to say that they had not 
at some time learned a trade, and so have been eligible 
on the principle, once a mechanic always a meclianic. 
It seems probable, however, that the Constitution had 
been to a considerable extent ignored or modified in fact, 
before it was legally modified. In 1841 a committee had 
reported in favor of an amendment to the Constitution 
which would admit not only mechanics and manufac- 
turers, but "persons employed by them in relation to their 
said business," the object being to admit the corporation 
clerks, paymasters, etc. The report was accepted, but 
no action as to adopting or rejecting the amendment 
was ever taken, so far as the records show. But in this 
class also there are cases of admissions which apparently 



MIDDLESEX MECHANICS ASSOCIATION. 321 



indicate either that the Associatiou considered the 
aniendiiieut practically adopted when the report was 
accepted, or did not care whether it was adopted or not. 
It is to be remembered that, while it took a three-fourths 
vote to alter the Constitution, it required only a recom- 
mendation of the Govenament and a two-thirds vote in 
the Association to elect any individual a member. Of 
course the minority had their rights when members were 
admitted in defiance of the Constitution, and could have 
stopped it if they had chosen to "go to law" about it. 
But if they had ever thought of it they would have con- 
sidered that "game hardly worth the candle." There was 
never any flagrant attempt to "pack" the Association, 
onh^ that now and then a man w^as admitted in spite of 
the Constitution; and always during the i)eriod from 
1840 to 1851 there was an evident growth of the sentiment 
in favor of that change against which the committee of 
1848 made such a magnificent and successful fight, but 
which came, nevertheless, in 1851 as easily, apparently, 
as though there had neVer been any opposition. 

In 1857 an amendment providing that the President 
shall be a mechanic or manufacturer and a majority of 
the Government shall be mechanics or manufacturers, 
was voted down by a vote of three yeas to thirty-eight 
nays. The latter part of the proviso (a majority of the 
Government shall always be persons engaged in or con- 
nected with mechanical or manufacturing business) was, 
however, incorporated into a new draft of the Constitu- 
tion made in 1858, and remained there until the end. 



J 



NOTE FIVE 

Kirk Boott's influence in putting the Association on 
its feet in 1834 was undoubtedly even greater than the 
records show. In appreciation of its obligation to him 



322 OLD residents' historical association. 



a subscription was started among members of the Asso- 
ciation, on the completion of the biiikling, to pay for a 
])ortrait of him, for whicli, by vote of the Association, 
January 3d, 1835, he was asked to sit. Subscriptions 
were limited to live dollars each, and more than enough 
1o pay for it was subscribed. The portrait was received 
in 1838 after Mr. Boott's death. Of the other Jive lai-ge 
]tortraits some are recorded as having been procured by 
subscription, and others (that of Washington among the 
latter) simply as having been presented to the Associa- 
tion, with no intimation as to who jDresented them. In 
one case the gentleman was asked to sit for his j^ortrait 
^'provided it be furnished without expense to the Asso- 
ciation." The cautious proviso seems unnecessary, for it 
does not appear that any of them entailed any original 
expense on the Association, and in a general way it is 
not dififlcult to conjecture who gave them. The portraits 
Lawrence in 1846, of Appleton in 1817, of Lowell in 1818. 
The excellent portrait of Webster, by our own artist, 
Thomas B. Lawson, was presented by Dr. John C. Dalton 
on the occasion of his removing from Lowell in 1859. 



IJ\ Annual Report for lSOS-9, hij the President 
of the Association, Solon W. Stevens. 



In accordance with an established custom it becomes 
necessary to present an annual report of the transactions 
of this Society during the past year. 

Two very valuable and interesting papers have been 
])resented, one by Charles Cowley, Esquire, on the life and 
seiwices of Uev. Kobert Court, D. D., read on the evening 
of June 21st, ISDS, and one by the Hon. Frederick Law- 
Ion, on the growth and decline of the Middlesex 
Mechanics' Association, read on the evening of January 
31st, 1899. Both of these papers will appear in perma- 
nent form in the future publications of the Society, and 
will be regarded as exceedingly valuable contributions 
to the historical and biographical sketches which we 
now possess. 

Three nev7 members have been added to the list of 

membership. 

The following donations have been received by the 
Association and their acceptance duly acknowledged: 

Annual Report of the Secretary to the Board of 
Regents of the University of California for 1897 and 
1898. 2 Vols. 



324 OLD residents' historical association. 



Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1896-7. 
A'ols. 1 and 2. 

Catalogue of Yale University, 1898-9. 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 9, Nos. 3 and 1. 

Dedham Ilistorical Register. Vol. 10, Nos. 1 and 2. 

Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
Vol. 6, Nos. 2, 3, 4. 

Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
Vol. 7, No. 1. 

Cataloiiue of Rare and Scarce American Early Laws 
and Charters of the Colonies. 

Fourteenth Report of the United States Civil Ser- 
vice Commission, 1896-7. 

Proceedings and Collections of the Nebraska State 
Historical Society. Second series. Vol. 2. 

Inebriety, Its Source, Prevention and Cure, by C. F. 
Palmer. 

Forty-fifth Annual Report of the Directors of the 
American Congregational Association, 1898. 

In Memoi-iam of Rev. Robert Court, D. D. Compli- 
ments of C. O. Barnes. 

Thirteenth Annual Report of the Maine Genealogical 
Society for 1896. 

The Massachusetts Bay Currency, 1690-1750, by 
Andrew McFarland Davis. 

The Bradford Histor^^ of Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts. Compliments of Representative E. T. Rowell. 

One Hundred and Twentieth Anniversary of the Pro- 
ceedings of the Wyoming Commemorative Association, 
1898. 

Lynn Historical Association, Annual Report for 1897. 

Report of the Fourth Annual Meeting of Lake 
Mohawk C^)Lference on International Arbitration, 1898. 

Military Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of 
New York, 1807-1817, published by the State. 



ANNUAL REPORT, 325 



The Essex Antiqiiariau. Vol. 1, No. 10, October, 
1897. 

Annaal Report, Long Island Society, 1S97-8. 

Utility of University Education, by Hon. James A. 
Maguire, of the University of California. 

Arthur Henry Hallam, by ATilliam Ewart Gladstone, 
by Youth's Companion. 

The Historical Forces ^yhicll gave rise to Puritanism, 
bv William L. Kingslev. 

The First Church in New Haven, lfi3S-lSS8, by Rev. 
Kewman Smyth. 

Founder's Day, 1638-1888, of New Haven, Conn. 

Centennial of New Haven, Conn., 1781-1881. 

Historical Discourse of the One Hundred and 
Fiftieth Anniversary of the Organization of the United 
Church of New Haven, Conn., May 8th, 1892, by Rev. Theo. 
T. Hunger, D. D. 

Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. 

Vols. 2, 3, 4 and 5. 

City of Lowell, Public Documents, 1897-8. 

Annual Report of Buffalo Historical Society, 1898. 

Proceedings of the New England Historical Genea- 
logical Society at Annual Meeting, January, 1S99. 

New Tracks in an Old Trail, by George Sheldon. 

Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 

1896 and 1S97. 

Report of the Meeting of the Chicago Historical 

Society, held Januaiy 17th, 1899. 

A Sketch of the Life of William Adams Richardson, 
by Frank Warren Hackett of Washington (a gift by the 
Estate of William Adams Richardson). 

The Old Settlei^s Annual. Vols. 1, 2 and 3. 

State Libraiy of New York, Bulletin, History, No. 1, 
April, 1898. 



326 OLD residents' historical association. 



state Library of New York, Bulletin, Legislation, 
Ko. 10, Jaunary, 1899. 

State Librarj^ of New York, Bulletin, Public 
Libraries, No. 24, April, 1898. 

State Library of New York, Bulletin, Summer 
Schools, No. 25, July, 1898. 

There haVe been thirteen deaths in our Society since 
our last annual meeting. 



'»• 



(1) Mr. Phineas Whiting died at the age of 78 on 
the evening of August 28th, 1898. He was an old resi- 
dent of Lowell, having been prominent in bank circles 
for many years. In 1859 he was elected Director in the 
Old Lowell Bank, in which capacity he served faithfully 
until Januaiy, 1898. He sers^ed in the Common Council 
and in the State Legislature, and had it not been for 
his increasing infirmity of deafness his influence would 
have been more actively exerted in financial and business 
circles, for he was a man of rare judgment and ability. 
He is sadly missed, not only as a citizen of marked integ- 
rity, but also as a warm-hearted, genial, jovial gentleman. 

(2) Mr. Asahel Davis died at the age of 80 years on 
October 13th, 1898, at his home on Church Street. Mr. 
Davis was born in Princeton in this State and had lived 
in Lowell more than forty years. He was a machinist 
by trade and an inventor of much skill and ingenuity. 
He never cared for public honors, and never sought for 
social preferment. He was highly respected and was 
always regarded as a man of integrity and reliability. 

(3) Mr. AVillard A. Brown died on December 19th, 
1898, at his home on Fainnount Sti*eet at tne age of TO 
vears. He was born in Dedham in this State in 1828, 
and came to Lowell when five years of age with his 
father, who soon afterward established himself in the 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



327 



leather business. Mr. Brown was educated in tlie public 
schools of Lowell. After leaving school he became 
engaged with his father in business and succeeded to 
that business at the time of his father's death, and con- 
tinued in this occupation during life. He was a member 
of the Common Council in 1SG9 and 1870, and in 1871 
and 1872 he was a member of the State Legislature. Mr. 
Brown was greatly respected for his integrity and 
honorable dealing in business relations and as a citizen. 
He was naturally conserv^ative, quiet, not given to dis- 
play, faithful, and always reliable. lie leaves the record 
of an affectionate husband and father, and of an upright 
and conscientious man, 

(1) Mr. Franklin Martin died at his home on Liberty 
Street on the 25th of December, 1898, at the age of 76 
vears and 4 months. It is stated bv those who knew 
him that Mr. Martin was a man of genuine Avortli and 
character. We are unable to report any particular 
details of his biography, since no record was published 
at the time of his death. It is, however, stated that he 
was at the time of his decease the oldest Odd Fellow in 
LoAvell and a member of Mechanics' Lodge. 

(5) Mr. George Enieiy died at the age of 75 at the 
home of his son in Holyoke, Mass., on the 13th of 
Februaiw, 1899. He was born in Leominster in this 
State and came to Lowell more than forty years ago. At 
the time of his death he was the oldest hackman in 
Lowell, having seen about forty years' service in this line 
of business. He is remembered as a man of kindly dis- 
position, courteous and x^rompt in his transactions with 
his fellowmen. 

(G) Mr. Henry Hammond Barnes died in this city 
at the age of 83 vears, on the 3d of March, 1899. Mr. 



328 



OLD residents' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Barnes was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, and 
came to Lowell in 1829. He was for a long time engage*! 
in business with the late Mr. Daniel H. Dean under the 
tirm name and style of Dean & Barnes. In 1849, when 
Canal Block was built, the firm leased one of its stores, 
where Mr. Barnes remained during his career in active 
business. He was a member of the High Street Church, 
and at the time of his death was one of its deacons. He 
was a dignified, courtly gentleman, loved and respected 
by all, and especially by children. He was identified 
with the growth and prosperity of Lowell, and he will 
long be remembered as a citizen of sterling worth and 
Christian character. 

(7) Mr. Cyrus King Russell, at the age of 83 years 
and 6 months, died at his liome on Merrimack Street on 
the 9th of March, 1899. Mr. Russell was born in New 
Ipswich, New Hampshire, in 1815, and came to Lowell 
in 1829. He was a descendant of a Norman French 
family, founded in 1016. The English representative of 
this family was John Earl of Bedford, and to him 
W.Uliam Russell, the first American ancestor who came 
from England and settled in Cambridge, Mass., in 1640, 
traced his ancestry. At the age of 14 Mr. Russell began 
to work in a grocery store at the corner of Hurd and 
Central Streets, and shortly aftei'w^ards started to learn 
the machinist's trade in the Lowell Machine Shop. On 
the occasion of the visit of General Jackson to Lowell in 
1832, Mr. Russell, being a member of a military" company, 
was assisting in firing the salute in honor of the distin- 
guished visitor, when the premature discharge of the 
gun caused the disaster which nearly cost him his life, 
and by which he suffered the loss of his left arm. After 
his recovery he resumed his school studies with the 
intention of fitting for college, and became a student 



A^^UAL REPORT. 329 



successive!}^ at the academy in Xew Ilaiiipton, Xew 
Hampshire, and at the academy at Woburn, Mass. He 
afterwards taught school in Tewksbury, Mass., in South 
Dennis, Mass., and in the Hopkinton Academy, Hopkin- 
ton, New Hampshire. In 1851 he engaged in business 
with liis brotlier under the firm name of S. S. Russell 
& Co. In 1855 he purchased his brother's interest in the 
business, and in 1874 joined with him in partnership the 
late Mr. George S. Cheney. This union having been 
dissolved in 1879, his son became a partner, and the firm 
took the name of C. K. Russell & Son. In 1884 he closed 
out his interest in active business and retired to private 
life. Mr. Russell was a Republican in politics, and 
served two terms in the State Legislature. He was a 
man of unusual ability and force of character. Upright, 
conscientious, kind and obliging, his advice was often 
sought, while his judgment was always deemed reliable. 
He will be greatly missed as one of our most highly 
respected citizens. 



(8) Mr. Newell A. Ranlett died at his home on 
Tliird Street May 18th, 1899. Mr. Ranlett was 80 years 
old at the time of his decease. He was born in Gil- 
manton. New Hampshire, and came to Lowell about 
sixtv vears ago. He was widelv known as an auctioneer 
and a liver^^ stable keeper. His death was very sudden, 
and at a time when he seemed to be in usual good health. 
He had many friends, especially among the older people, 
who will sincerely mourn his loss. 

(9) Ool. James Francis died at his home on Man- 
sur Street on December 1st, 1898, at the age of 58 years. 
He was born in Lowell on the 30th of March, 1840. He 
was educated in the public schools of this city, and after 
an attendance for a brief period on private instruction 



330 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



he entered the Lowell Machine Shop as an apprentice. 
He remained there until the breaking ont of the Civil 
War, when he enlisted at the first call to arms, April 
20tli, 1861, and assisted in recruiting for the serAice 
Company A, Second Massachusetts Regiment. He 
served throughout the war. He served under Gen. 
Patterson in the Shenandoah Vallev, Avith Gen. Banks 
in his retreat, Avith the Arm}' of the Potomac in the 
winter of 1802-3, and participated in the battles of Cedar 
Mountain, Chancellorsville, Antietam, and Gettysburg. 
He also rendered efficient seiTice in the West and along 
the line of the Chattanooga Railroad. He Avas under 
Gen. Sherman in his famous march to the sea and 
through the Carolinas, and participated in all the battles 
of that historic campaign. He Avas wounded at the 
battle of Antietam. His various commissions are dated 
as follows: Second Lieutenant, May 25th, 1861; First 
Lieutenant, NoA^ember, 1861; Captain, August 10th, 1862; 
Major, July 4th, 1863; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, March 
13th, 1865, for gallant sen-ice in Georgia and tlu^ Oaro- 
lina««, and Avas commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel July 
24th J 1865. He received an honorable discharge from 
th,^ army in August, 1865, and in the following Septem- 
ber received an appointment as one of the engineers in 
charge of the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel, in 
which sendee he continued until 1866, when lie returned 
to Lowell and entered the seiwice of the Locks and 
Canals Company, as Assistant Engineer, in April, 1867. 
In this service he AA^as appointed Agent and Engiueor, 
Januarys 1st, 1885, Avhich position he held until 1893, 
Avhen these two offices having been separated, he Avas 
promoted to the position of General Agent, in Avhich 
office he continued doing faithful and efficient si^rvice 
until the time of his death. He Avas a member of the 
American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society 



ANNUAL REPORT. 331 



of Mecliauical Engineers, Boston Society of Civil Engi- 
neers, Institution of Great Britain, Loyal Legion, Massa- 
chusetts Military Historical Society, Victoria Institute, 
riijlosopliical Society of Great Britain, and the First 
Unitarian Society. He served as a member of the Board 
of Aldermen in 1884-1885, and was a Director in the 
Lowell Gas Light Company and in the Railroad National 
Bank, and was also a Trustee of the Mechanics' Savings 
Bank. 

In addition to all this he was an upright, honest, 
able, genial, lovable man, respected by every one and 
endeared to a host of friends. 

(10) Mr. David Whittaker died at Ilillsboro Bridge, 
New Hampshire, February 11th, 1899, at the age of TO 
years. Had he lived but eight days more he would have 
been 71 j^ears of age. He was born in Deering, New 
Hampshire, received his education in the schools of that 
place, and very early in life entered the cotton mills of 
Low^ell as an operative, and finally w^orked his way up 
to the position of overseer. In 1860 he engaged in the 
furniture business w^ith Mr. George F. Offutt, doing 
brsiness under the firm name of Offutt & Whittaker. 
He retired from business in 1895 on account of ill health. 
He served as a member of the Board of Aldermen in 1882 
and 1883. He was highly respected as a citizen, and by 
a large circle of acquaintances his death is sincerely 
mourned. 

(11) Mr. Edward F. Coburn, after a long and pain- 
ful illness, died at his home on Oak Street on the 16th 
of December, 1898, at the age of 55 years and 2 months. 
He was a member of the well-known firm of C. B. Coburn 
& Co., dealers in manufacturers' supplies. He was a 
man of quiet tastes and habits, of spotless integrity, and 



332 OLD residents' historical association. 



dearly loved by hosts of friends. He was never ambi- 
tious to hold public office, but he was a great enthusiast 
in politics, and at one time served very efficiently as- 
Chainnan of the Republican Oity Committee. He was an 
affectionate husband and father, a highly esteemed 
citizen, and a true, reliable friend. 

(12) Mr. George F. Morey died December 29th, 1898, 
at his home on Mt. Washington Street, at the age of 72 
years. He was born in Windsor, ^'ermont, and came to 
Lowell when a young man in compaii}^ with the late Hon. 
Hocum Hosford. He was one of the original founders 
of the Lowell Daily Citizen. In 1856 with Mr. Leonard 
Brown he purchased the Daily Morning News, the Ameri- 
can Citizen, a weekly paper, and the Daily Citizen, and 
the journal thus formed by the consolidation of these 
tliree papers was called the Daily Citizen and News. Its 
editor was the late Hon. John A. Goodwin. In 1859 the 
late Hon. Cliauncey L. Kiiapp and Mr. Morey became the 
proprietors of the Citizen Avitli Mr. Knapp as editor, and 
from this firm Mr. Morey retired iu 1876. Mr. Morey 
was a member of the State Legislature in 1887-88, and a 
member of the Citv Council in 1860-61. He alwavs 
jnaintaiued great interest in politics, and tlirough the 
instrumentality of his paper exerted great influence in 
behalf of the Republican party, of which he was an active 
member. He will be fondly remembered as a man of 
unusual business ability and as an enterprising citizen. 

(13) Mr. Edward P. Woods died suddenly at his 
home on W>st Sixth Street on the 10th of January, 18139, 
at the age of 72 yeai-s. He was born in Newport, New 
Hampshire, and received his education in the Academy 
of Newport and the Kimball Union Academy of Merirlen, 
New Hampshire. In 1856 he came to Lowell and shortly 



ANNUAL REPORT. 333 



afterwards entered tlie employ of tlie J. (\ Aver C'oni- 
pany, and in 1858 was Superintendent of Manufacturing 
for tliat company. In 1861 he organized the firm of 
Woods, Sherwood & Co., manufacturers of white lustral 
wire ware, which was developed into a large business, 
and from which he retired shortly before his death. 

Mr. Woods was a Kepublicau in politics and served 
in the Common Council in 1873-74. He was an active 
and devoted member of Kirk Street Church, and was one 
of the first promoters and managers in America of the 
organization known as the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation. He was a man of marked personality and a 
great worker in whatever he engaged. In addition to his 
other philanthropic labors he was principal of one of the 
first evening schools in this city. He was also for a 
long time the responsible manager of the First Street 
Mission, which was conducted on strictly missionary 
lines. His time and his means were always at the 
demand of this enterprise, and it was only a little while 
before his death that he retired from active work in its 
behalf. He was a very estimable man, zealously devoted 
to every enterprise whereby to benefit his felloAvmen, 
and he will long be remembered as a zealous business 
man and a sincere Christian gentleman. 

Such is the obituary record of this Association so far 
as it can be ascertained for the year now drawing to 
its close. Thirteen of our number have passed away. 
Q'he average age is a fraction above 73 years. Two of 
them reached the limit of fourscore and three, the 
youngest of them died at the age of 55 years. All of 
them passed their liA'es from boyhood until their decease 
in old age here in Lowell, giving their energies, the fruits 
of their entei'i^rise, their industry, and their intelligence 
to the development and enhancement of the municipality 
which had become their home. We cannot measure olf 



334: OLD residents' historical association. 



by metes and bounds the sphere of their influence any 
more easily than we can fix the limits of friendship and 
judicious counsel, but we are certain that the i^ower of 
their lives in its comi)lex variety is felt in, and has 
become a part of, the general moral welfare of the city 
in which we live. Their early manhood was passed at a 
time when the energies of the ablest men in the com- 
munity were demanded for the public seiwice. Their 
standard of citizenship was high, their ideals were noble 
and pure. Public office was not considered an oppor- 
tunity for selfish attainment, but for the fulfilment of a 
sacred trust. Ability, integrity and fidelity are three of 
the prominent characteristics of good citizenship every- 
where. In so far as these men labored for the attain- 
ment of these ends, let us emulate their example and 
strive for the maintenance in our prosperous city of that 
which makes for the noblest ends, both in private and in 
public life. 

Kespectfully submitted, 

SOLON W. STEVENS, President. 
Lowell, May 29th, 1899. 



T: Aivnual Report for 1809-1000. Bij Solon W. 
Stevens, Pres. Read Mai/ 20, 1000. 



The time has come when custom and usage require 
of the President of this Association an annual report. 
It would be very pleasant if your President could present 
evidence of an increasing interest in the purpose and 
motives of this organization on the i)art of our citizens 
generally, and if he could bear witness to a more widely 
diffused desire among our people to attach themselves to 
a society whose object is to search for and present in 
tangible shape such data and statistics as might be gath- 
ered from Various sources relative to the city which is 
our home. Our people are necessarily so busily occupied 
in the various avenues of business and of the professions 
that the importance of preserving in concrete form such 
statements of incidents and events as make up the local 
history of a community seems to be regarded with com- 
parative indifference, or else it is pushed aside as a 
matter of but little worth. However this may be, our 
Society should continue its work as industriously as pos- 
sible along customary lines with the assurance that 
whatever is done here to promote the interests for which 
it was organized will be gratefully appreciated by the 
general public in time to come. 



8:36 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The following doiiations have been received during 
the past year and their acceptance acknowledged: 

Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wis- 
consin at its Forty-seventh Annual Meeting held 
December 14th, 1891). 

Report of the President of Yale University for 1898. 

Catalogue of Yale University', 1899-1900. 

Annual Report of the Secretaiy of the University of 
California, 1899. 

Ninth Annual Report of the West Virginia Historical 
and Antiquarian Society, 1899. 

Tenth Annual Report of the West Virginia Histori- 
cal and Antiquarian Society, 1900. 

State Libraiy Bulletin, University of New York, Leg- 
islation, No. 11. Januaiy, 1900. 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 11, No. 1, Janu- 
arv, 1900. 

Dedham Historical Register. Vol. 11, No. 2, April, 
1900. 

Publications of Rhode Island Historical Society. 
A'ol. 7, No. 2, July, 1899. 

Publications of Rhode Island Historical Society. 
\v\. 7, No. 4, January, 1900. 

Publications of Rhode Island Historical Society. 
Vol. 8, No. 1, Apnl, 1900. 

University of the State of New Y^ork Library Report, 
1898. 

Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1897-98. 
'Vols. 1 and 2. 

State of New Y^)rk, Report of the State Histoi'ian, 
1897. Colonial Series. Vol. 2. 

Fifteenth Report of the United States Gvil Service 
Commission, July, 1897, June, 1898. 

William Walker and tlie Provisional Government of 
Nebraska Territoiy, Second Series, No. 3. Published by 
Nebraska State Historical Society in 1899. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 337 



Diary of David McOliire, with complimeuts of 
AVilliaiii liichiiioud Peters and Jolin Piinuatt Peters, 
1899. 

Pen drawing of the fonner residence of Alanson 
Crane, corner of School and Liberty Streets, Lowell, 
Mass., 18G3, by Hon. Leroy B. Oane of New York, Nov. 
24tli, 1899. 

Portrait of the late Zina E. Stone, by Mrs. Selina 
ITooper, sister of the deceased. 

Sixteen vacancies have been created bv death since 
our last annual meeting. 

Mr. William McArthur died on the 29th of May, 
1899, at the age of 74 years. Deceased was a well-known 
resident of Lowell for manv vears. He was a native of 
Scotland, but lived in Lowell the greater portion of his 
life. He was for sixteen 3^ears, according to the record, 
the sexton of St. Anne's Church, which position he 
resigned some six or seven years ago. 

Mr. Ferdinand Kodliff died at his home on Appleton 
Street on the night of May 31st, 1899, at the age of 93 
years, 4 months and 25 days. He was born in Seekonk, 
Mass., and came to Lowell in 1827. For thirty-two years, 
he served as overseer and assistant superintendent 
in the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, and for forty 
years as general superintendent of that corporation. 
Probably there is no one living in Lowell today who has^ 
given so manv vears of his life to faithful service in anv 
mill of our city as is recorded of Mr. Rodliff. This 
long period of service attests his worth and the high 
estimation in which he was held. He was a witness to 
the enormous growth of our chief manufacturing indus- 
try from the period of small beginnings to its present 
development. Mr. Rodliff was greatly respected as a 
citizen of strict integrity of character, honorable in all 



338 OLD residents' historical association. 



his dealings with his fellowmen, and faithful in the dva- 
charge of duty. He was prominently identified with St. 
Paul's Church, and for sixty-six years was one of its 
deyoted members. 

Mr. William Corey died at the age of 88 June ITth, 
1899. He came to Lowell in 1831, when the population 
was less than seyen thousand, and A\'ent to work on the 
Lavyrence Corporation under the agency of Mr. Austin. 
During the last years of his life he was employed by 
Deputy v'^heriff Stiles as keei^er of properties under 
attachment. He was not a man of many words, being 
more reticent than communicatiye; but was much 
res])ected by those who enjoyed his acquaintance. 

Mr. Zina E. Stone, after a brief illness, died at the 
age of 76 years on the morning of June 26th, 1899. He 
was born in Bethel, Maine. At the age of 17 he learned 
the printer's trade, and during his whole life he was 
connected with newspaperial work. The space allotted 
to this report is not sufticient to adequately describe the 
useful career of this beloyed and honored citizen. A 
comprehensiye statement of the incidents of his business 
life was published in the Eyening Mail of June 26th, 1899, 
a repetition of which is not considered either practicable 
or necessary here. Mr. Stone was one of the founders 
of the Old Eesidents' Historical Association, and 
was one of the most interesting and instructive con- 
tributors to its series of publications. His sympathies 
were enlisted in its behalf, its work was congenial to his 
tastes, and he was always ready to promote its welfare 
in eyery possible way. He was for many years a 
member of the Executive Committee of this Association, 
and at the time of his decease he was its Vice-President. 
He was loved and honored by all who knew him. 
He had decided opinions of affairs, he knew how to 
express his thoughts gracefully and yet with force, he 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



339 



was careful, judicious, aud couscientious, aud yet never 
afraid to say what lie considered to be for the best 
interests of the people. He was quiet, unostentatious, 
never ambitious for public offlce, but was fond of books 
and the works of great writers, and apparently always 
in the indulgence of most satisfactory enjoymcmt when 
with pen in hand he was busy in the development of 
some congenial theme. No one, in recent years at least, 
has passed away from the ranks of active membership 
in this Association who will be more sincerely missed 
or more lovingly- remembered than Mr. Stone, because of 
his sterling integrity, his lovable nature, and his posses- 
sion of the many traits which characterize the reliable 
friend and the true gentleman. 

Mr. Edward B. Howe died at his home on High 
Street August 12th, 1899, at the age of 83 years. Mr. 
Howe was born in Marlboro in 1816, and came to Lowell 
in 1826. In 1847 he became interested in the business 
of card-clothing, and was identified with this line of 
business during his life. He was a very intelligent man, 
a great reader of instructive books, a good musician, 
serving as organist in several of our churches for many 
vears, and was endeared to all who knew him for his 
gentle, genial, sympathetic nature. His departure leaves 
a vacancy in our ranks which will not be soon forgotten. 

Mrs. Elizabeth L. Brigham, wife of Mr. Oramel A. 
Brigham, died suddenly on the evening of August 30th, 
1899, at Catamut, Buzzard's Bay. Mrs. Brigham 
belonged to the line of Toppans, who were among the 
early settlers of Newbui-yport. Her maiden name was 
Elizabeth Toppan. For eleven years she Avas an 
assistant teacher in the old Green School under the mas- 
tership of the late Charles Morrill. She was a woman 
of rare intellectual worth, and during her life she was 
conspicuous for her generosity and good works. She 



3-10 OLD residents' historical association. 



was for luaiiv vears connected with the First ConoTega- 
tional Church in this city, but during' the hitter part of 
lier life she was prominently identified with the First 
Trinitarian Congrejiational Clinrcli of Lowell. Mrs. 
IJjij^hani Avas a public-spirited, large-hearted woman, 
and particularly interested in the benevolent Avork car- 
ried on by the Old Ladies' Home. She was also always 
very much intereste<l in the work of the Old Residents' 
Historical Association, was a constant attendant at our 
meetings, and ever ready to do her part in tlie advance- 
ment of its welfare. 

Mr. Edmund Dix Fletcher died on the morning of 
October 21st, 1899, at the age of 70 years. Mr. Fletcher 
was born in Dedham, came to Lowell in his early years, 
and in 1848 helped to organize tbe well-known and highly 
reputed lirm of Nichols & Fletcher, grocers. This 
firm was the successor to the business established by 
Mr. Kansom Reed in 1838, by AAhom Mr. Fletcher was 
employed. Mr. Fletcher was highly esteemed as a 
citizen and a business man. He was successful in busi- 
ness because of his close attention to its affairs and his 
strict integrity. He was descended from the family of 
Fletcher which was prominent among the early proprie- 
tors of the town of Concord. His grandfather, Eleazer 
Fletcher, w^as captain of a militia company which took 
part in the battle of Bunker Hill. Mr. Fletcher was a 
member of the Common Council of Lowell for two years, 
of the Board of Aldermen for one year, and Avas a mem- 
ber of the Eliot (Congregational Church. He Avas 
endeared to a large circle of friends, and he will long be 
remembered as a most exemplarA' citizen. 

Mr. EdAvard Hartshorn died at the age of 83 years 
on the morning of December 9th, 1899. He was born in 
NeAv IpsAvich, Ncav Hampshire, in 1816, and came to 
LoAvell Avhen 14 years old. For a period of twelve years 



A"NNUAL REPORT. 341 



lie was eiigage<l in business in Manchester, New Hamp- 
shire, as a member of the linn of HeiTick & Hartshorn. 
In 1860, or thereabouts, he returned to Lowell and 
engaj»ed in the dry goods business as a member of the 
firm of Hartshorn, Hall & Woods. After a few years 
had passed b}' he entered the employ of H. Hosford & 
Co., and remained with them and their successors, now 
known as A. U. Pollard & Co., until the time of his 
decease. He was a quiet, unobtriisiye man, and greatly 
respected by all who enjoyed the fayor of his 
acquaintance. 

Mr. James Dugdale, aged 77 years, died at his resi- 
dence February 23rd, 1900. He was for many years a 
resident of Lowell, and was formerly engaged in the 
manufacture of Ayorsted goods, and at one time con- 
trolled a mill on Willie Street. He liyed a retired life, 
but was highly esteemed for his many excellent qualities 
by all who knew him. 

Mr. Rufus Hart, of 15 Varney Street, died veiy sud- 
denly at his temporaiy home in Someryille on March. 
18th, 1900. Mr. Hart was born in Kingswood, England, 
about sixty-thi*ee years ago and came to this country with, 
his parents when only 7 years old. The family 
came directly to Lowell, and here was his home. He 
was educated in our public schools, was an attendant at 
St. Anne's Church from the time of his early bo3^hood, 
and was engaged in the foundry business in Charles- 
town, Mass., as a member of the firm of Osgood & Hart. 
He will always be remembered as a man of upright deal- 
ings with his fellowmen, and as one who was animated 
by a desire to be just, upright and honest in all his rela- 
tions with, others, and in the conduct of his life. 

Mr. Ephraim Brown, one of the oldest and most 
widely-known residents of our city, died at his home on 
Chestnut Street, at the age of 80 years, on the afternoon 



342 OLD residents' historical association. 



of March 20th, 1900. Mr. Brown was born in Wilton, 
New Hampshire. He came to Lowell in 1840, and began 
business here as a tradesman. From 1845 to 1849 he 
was a teacher in our grammar schools, and eventually 
gained prominence as a manuiacturer and inventor. For 
several years he was a Director in the First National 
Bank of this city, beside holding other positions of trust 
and responsibility. In 1852 he became a member of the 
High Street Congregational Church, and was a constant 
attendant at its services until the date of his death. He 
was also a Trustee of the Central Savings Bank of this 
city. Mr. Brown was a man of cheerful disposition, 
unimpeachable character and generous instincts. He 
was a gentleman of the "old school," so called, and during 
his long life in our city he made hosts of acquaintances, 
many of whom now are living to mourn the absence of 
a friend who was ever ready to give words of counsel 
and encouragement. 

Mr. Joseph S. Brown died on the morning of March 
2Gth, 1900, at his home on Myrtle Street, at the age of 
80 years. He was born in Maiden, Mass., and was of 
Scotch descent. He came to Lowell in 1846, and engaged 
in the dry goods business, in which he remained 
until his retirement from active business life in 1883. 
He was a member of the Common Council in 1872-73, in 
1883-84, of the Board of Aldermen in 1874-75, and a 
member of the State Legislature in the term of 1885-8G. 
He Avas a Director of the First National Bank, and of 
the Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill Street Railway, and 
a charter member and Trustee of the Central Savings 
Bank of Lowell, in addition to the occupancy of positions 
of trust in other organizations of a more private nature. 
He will be remembered as an upright citizen and a 
Christian gentleman. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



343 



Mr. Charles W. Drew died March BOtli, 1900, at the 
a<ie of 84 years. Of late years, ou account of enfeebled 
health, he was not engaged in actiye business, but for a 
long time he Ayas a faithful employe of H. Hosford «S: Oo. 
and was, at one time, senior member of the dry goods 
iirni of Drew, Taft «& Welch. He was one of the old 
settlers of Lo^^-ell, haying made his home here in 1849. 
He will be loyingly remembered as an honest, upright 
man. 

Mr. Buruham C. Benner died on Sunday morning, 
April 8th, 1900, at the age of upward 81 years. Mr. 
Benner was born in Pittston, Maine, and came to Lowell 
in 1863 and Ayas identified with the firm of Benner 
Brothers, furniture dealers. He held the office of 
deacon in the John Street Congregational Church for 
twenty-one years. He was greatly respected for liis 
integrity, his honorable business career, and his superior 
standing as a member of this community. He was a 
man of strong indiyiduality of character, and will long 
be fondly remembered as a man of enterprise and fidelity 
in the performance of dut}'. 

Mr. (leorge Hurter Steyens, a well-known lawyer of 
this city, died on the afternoon of April 4th, 1900, at the 
age of 49 years. He Ayas a natiye of Mt. Vernon, New 
Hampshire, and was the son of George Stevens, who was 
for many years the District Attorney of this district. 
Mr. Steyens graduated from Dartmouth College in 1874, 
after which he travelled quite extensively in Europe, and 
Avas subsequently admitted to the bar in January, 18S0. 
He Avas appointed bail commissioner as successor to 
the late Judge Frye, Av^hich position he held at the time 
of his death. He was also historian of Old Middlesex 
Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, and Secre- 
tary and Ti-easurer of the Old Residents' Historical Afso- 
ciation at the date of his decease. Mr. Stevens Avas a 



3-i4 OLD residents' historical association. 



luaii of scholarly instincts, of wide readin^v, and solid 
iutellectnal attainment. He was respected by his 
brethren at the bar as a man of honor and ability. He 
Avas modest and unassuming, industrious and ambitious 
for the attainment of noble ideals, and by those who w^re 
admitted to his friendship he will lono; be remembere I as 
a man of rare ability and as a thoroughly reliable frier.d. 

Mr. Charles Ohauncy Chase died at his home on 
Kesmith Street on the evening of Wednesday, May 15th, 
1900, at the age of 82 years. Mr. Chase was born in 
Haverhill, Mass., January 19th, 1818, within a short dis- 
tance of tlie birthplace of the favorite poet of New Eng- 
land people, John Greenleaf Whittier, with whom an 
acquaintance formed in boyhood was maintained 
throughout the experience of maturer years. Having 
fitted for college in the public schools of Haverhill, he 
entered Dartmouth College in 1835 and graduated with 
high rank as a scholar in 1839 in a class of sixty-one 
members, among whom there were many who afterward 
attained distinction in their chosen walks in life. Mr. 
Chase came to Lowell in 1845 to assume the position of 
Principal of the High School of this city, which position 
he successfully filled until the date of his resignation in 
1883, a period of thirty-eight years. In 1811 he was 
united in marriage with Miss Martha A. Cowles of 
Peacham, Vermont, who still survives liiin. Of this 
union seven children were born, four of whom are living: 
Mr. Francis X. Chase, Teller of the Old Lowell National 
Bank; Mr. Frederick A. Chase, Librarian of the City 
Library; Mr. William C. Chase, a prominent architect 
in Boston; and Mrs. Bradley, wife of Kev. Dr. Bradley, 
of the Garrett Biblical Institute at Evanston, 
Illinois. He also leaves two sisters and two brothers, 
one of whom is Mr. Samuel A. Chase, the Treasurer of 
the Central Savings Bank of this city. Mr. Chase was 



ANNUAL REPORT. 34.5 



one of the most highly respected citizens of T.owell. In 
addition to this he was oreatly beh>Ved by many of our 
people wlio in early life were |)upils at school under his 
guidance and instruction. The personal Impressions 
mutually received by instrut tor and pupil in school-days 
are seldom forgotten in after years, and if the relations 
between the two were such as to promote reciprocal 
esteem the lapse of time simply adds strength to the 
opinions thus early formed. Mr. Chase will long be 
remembered as a faithful, capable, conscientious teacher. 
He was a thorough scholar, he was fond of books, 
and especially fond of classical literature. He v/as a 
master of literaiy expression, and beside he had that 
peculiar faculty of imparting knowledge so absolutely 
essential in a successful teacher, together with that 
subtle influence of character which is the result of sym- 
pathy and conscientious adherence to duty. Many of 
the most prominent and substantial people of this city 
are numbered among his pupils, who, with hosts of 
others all over the land, Avill remember him with feelings 
of sincere respect. Mr. Chase was at one time President 
of this Association, and he always felt a lively interest in 
its aims and its work. The papers which he presented. 
and which have been preserved are among the most 
interesting of the series. The historical sketch of Lowell 
written by him and published in the History of Middle- 
sex County is a reservoir of information relative to 
Lowell as a town and as a city, showing his familiarity 
with local affairs and his interest in the welfare of the 
community wherein he resided so many years. Mr. 
Chase was a member of the High Sti-eet Congregational 
Church and was prominently identified with all its inter- 
ests. At the close of a long and useful career he simply 
lay down to rest, and peacefully breathed his life away. 



3-46 OLD residents' historical association. 



"Mark the perfect man, and behold the iii)right, for 
the end of that man is peace." 

Thus far in these brief and imperfect obituary 
sketclies mention has been made only of such who were 
members of our Association at the time of their decease. 
It has been the intention of the writer of this report to 
notice the death of every member who has died since our 
last annual meeting. It is quite possible that some 
name has been omitted. If such is the fact it must be 
regarded as accidental and unintentional. 

Since our last annual meeting two men of promi- 
nence in our local affairs have passed away who were 
not members of our society, but of whom it may not 
be deemed inappropriate to make brief mention on 
account of the consi:)icuous position which they filled in 
the public estimation of our people. Reference is thus 
made to Henry Greenwood Ctishing and Edward T. 
Rowell. 

Few men have been more widely known, at least in 
Middlesex Count}', than Sheriff Gushing. He was born in 
Abington in 1834, came to Lowell in 1875 as Deputy under 
the Hon. Charles Kimball, then Sheriff of the county, 
and died here on the morning of June 9th, 1899, at the 
age of 65 years. Mr. Crushing was appointed Sheriff of 
this county by Gov. Butler in 1881 to fill an unexpired 
term caused by the death of Sheriff Fiske, and was after- 
ward at stated times re-elected to the position of 
Sheriff, which office he held at the time of his decease. 
He was a veteran of the Civil War, an esteemed member 
of Post 185, G. A. R., and also of the Massachusetts 
Commandery of the Loyal Legion. He commanded the 
respect of all whom he met by his courtesy and his 
affable manner. He was kind and considerate toward 
those unfortunate ones placed under his care, and in all 
his dealings with his fellows he manifested the charac- 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



347 



teristic qualities of a courteous gentleman and a faithful 

officer. 

Mr. Edward T. Rowell died very suddenly from 
heart-failure on the afternoon of Auoust 4th, 1899, on a 
railway train between Boston and Lynn, wliile on his 
way to visit his family at the Ocean House at Swamp- 
scott. Mr. Eowell w^as born in Concord, New Hamp- 
shire, in 1830. He graduated from Dartmouth 0(dlege 
in 1861, and immediately enlisted as a private soldier in 
the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteers for 
the War of the Rebellion. He was promoted to be 
Captain of his company and afterward to be Major of his 
reo-iment. He came to Lowell in 1867 and with the Hon. 
George A. Marden, who was his classmate in college, 
purchased the Lowell Daily Courier and Weekly Journal, 
which papers were published for tw^enty-five years under 
the authority and supervision of the firm of Marden & 
Rowell. Mr. Row^ell was appointed Postmaster by 
President Grant in 1874, reappointed by President Hayes 
four years later, and reappointed again eight years later 
by President Arthur. In 1885 he was appointed 
Gas Commissioner by Governor Robinson, and held the 
office for five years. In 1890 he was elected President 
of the Railroad National Bank of this city. He served 
tw^o terms in the Massachusetts Legislature, in 1897 and 
1898. In addition he held various positions of trust iu 
societies and organizations of a less public cliaracter. 
He was an estimable man, a good citizen, a real gentle- 
man and a staunch friend. He was widely known, and 
he will be long remembered with affection and sincere 
respect. 

Such in brief is the obituary record which neces 
sarily constitutes the main portion of this report. Six- 
teen of our associates have passed away since last we 
met. The personnel of our community is rapidly chaug- 



348 OLD residents' historical association. 



ing. The old-time resident as he walks up and down the 
principal streets of our city is surprised to note the 
absence of familiar forms whom he was accustomed to 
meet even only a few years ago. As our city widens and 
increases, the ranks of Lowell's "Old Guard" seem 
to be rapidly diminishing. The new features which meet 
us in the public thoroughfare, and the new names 
which greet our ears, may be suggestive of much that 
is delightful, still there is a certain feeling of loneliness 
produced by this experience whereby the elderly inhabi- 
tant of this community is made to feel, momentarily 
perhaps, that he is well-nigh a stranger in the city of 
his birth and his life. All this is inevitable. It is simply 
a part of the Divine plan. Momentous events are crowd- 
ing upon us rapidly; the battle of life is fierce and per- 
petual, and as our companions drop from sight on either 
side we are to close up the line and press the column 
forward. May it be said of us when the record shall be 
written that we lived as Qiristian gentlemen and died 
as honest men. 

Respectfully submitted, 

SOLON W. STEVENS, President. 
May 21), 1900. 



^.v.^^o -^ CONTRIBUTIONS 




TO 



THE OLD RESIDENTS' 



Historical Association, 



LO\A/"KI>L, MASS, 



ORGANIZED DECEIVIBER 21, 1868. 



VOL. VI, No. 4. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, JANUARY, 1904. 



" ' Tis greatly wise to talk -with our past kours." — Young- 



LOWELL, jMASS. 

Courier-Citizen Company. Printers. 

1904. 



CONTRIBUTIONS 



TO 



THB OLD RESIDENTS' 

Historical Association, 



LOWKLL, MASS 



OROANIZEO 13ECEM:BER 21, 1868. 



VOL. VI, No. 4. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, JANUARY, 1904. 



" ' Tis greatly 7vise lo talk wit/i our past IioursT — Young- 



LOWELL, MASS. 
Courier-Citizen Company, Printers. 

1904 



»r; 



iT.T. 



OFFICERS. 



Solon W. Stevkns, Prcsidoit. 
Samuel P. Hadlev, Mcc-Prcsidoit. 
Horace S. Bacon, Secretary cvuf Trcasurci-. 



EXECUTIVE COM^vlITTEE. 



Solon W. Stevens, Alexander G. Cumnock, 

Samuel P. Hadlev, Cil\r[,e.s Cowley, 

Horace S. Bacon, James W. Bennett, 

Alfred P. Sawyer, Charles A. Stott, 

Albert L. Baciieller, Jacob B. Currier, 

John A. Bah.ey, P'rederick Lawton. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Amiual Keport of the President for J 900-1901. 
II. Annual Report of tlie President for 1901-1902. 

III. The Last of the Sachems. Py Charles Cowley, Esq 

IV. Zina E. Stone, the Eonnder of this Association. 

By Alfred P. Sawyei-, Es(i - . 

V^. Report of the Conunittee to Consider the Advisa- 
bility of Incorjioration with Draft of J>y-Laws. . 
\'I. Acceptance of By-Laws and Certillcate of Incor- 
poration 

YII. A Table of Contents of the Entire Series of Contri- 
butions to the ( )ld Residents"' Historical Associa- 
tion. ^'ols. \\I 

VIII. A List of Illustrations Contained in the Six ^'olunles 
of Contributions to the Old Residents' Historical 
Association 



Pace 

355 
370 
428 
446 

408 



471 



480 



OLD RESIDHNTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCLATION. 



I. Annual Bsport for 1000-1901. Bjj Solon }]\ 
Stevens, Pres. Read May 2S, 1901. 

There are but few items of interest to be embodied in 
the annual report, which by custom is due at this time. 

At our hist annual meeting a committee was chosen 
to make an eflbrt to secure a more acceptable and con- 
venient place for keeping the books, papeis, pictures, and 
other properties belonging to the society. By the efforts 
of that committee, our society is now peiinitted to hold its 
meetings and to preserve its properties in an anteroom 
in Memorial Hall building. 

A bookcase belonging to the society has been 
repaired and restored to something like its original good 
appearance, and the books and pamphlets which are the 
})ro})erty of the society have been removed in ])art from 
the shelves of the library below, and placed in this book- 
case. Avherein it is ho[)ed they may be carefully preserved. 
The ])ictures also, which at different times have come into 
the possession of the society, have been hung u[)on the 
walls of the room, hereafter to be considered the head- 
quarters of the Old Kesidents' Association. 

It is a pleasure to make record of these facts, for 
they are evidence of the partial accomplishment of a long 
cherished desire, that our society might have a " local 
habitation" as well as a name. 

During the past year the city of Lowell observed in 
an interesting manner the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of its 



356 OLD residents' HIsroUICAL ASSOCIATION. 



incorporation as a town. Iliis event took ])lace on the 
first day of March, 1901. Ai)i)ropriate exercises were 
held in Huntington Hall during- both the afternoon and 
the evening of that day. 

This anniversary celebration was in charge of a 
committee chosen bv the City Government, of which His 
Honor Mayor Uinion was chairman. By invitation, a 
committee was chosen from the Ohl Residents' Historical 
Association to act in conjunction with the aforesaid city 
committee in carrying the necessary plans into execution. 
The oration was delivered by the President of this Asso- 
ciation. A very large attendance of our citizens was present 
at the exercises, and an unexpected interest was manifested 
in listening to the story of many of the incidents which 
related to the beginning of Lowell and to its earlv 
corporate Ufe. 

Tiie list of donations to the Society during the past 
year is as follows : — 

CoxTiiiBuiioxs, May, 11)00, to May, li)()l. 

Lamb — Savory — llarriman. Family IJecords. by ¥. 
W. Lamb, Manchester, N. H. 

L'Organization judicairc dc New York. 

Sources of the Agricultural Imports of the United 
States. Ls94-lcS9S. 

'• Our Foreign Trade," by I nited States Department 
of Agriculture. 

Catalogue of Yale Universitv. 1900-1901. 

Report of Commissioner of Ivlucation. Voh. 1 and 
2, 1S98-1899. 

History and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck A^alley 
Memorial Association Yol. 3, 1S90-1S98. 



AN^^UAL REPORT. 357 



New York State Library. Bibliography of the New 
York Colonial History. 

New York State Library. Reference List on Con- 
necticut Local History. 

New York State Library. New York in the Ilcvo- 
lution. 

New York State Library. New York at Gettysbur":. 
Vols. 1, 2 and 3. 

New York State Library. New York in the Span- 
ish-American War. ^'ols. 1. 2 and 3. 

New York State Library. Public Papers of George 
Clinton, First Goyernor of New York, ^'ols. 1, 2 and 3. 

New York State Library. ijulletins, Legislation, 
Nos. 1 2 and 13. 

New York State Library. Bulletins, History, No. 4, 
on Slayery in New York. 

New York State Library. Bulletins. House Educa- 
tion, Nos. 31 and 32. 

New York State Library. Bulletins, Study Clubs, 
1898. 

Annual Report of the Smithsonian Listitute. 1898. 

Dedham Historical Register. A'ol. 11, No. 3, July, 
1900; Vol. 11, No. -1, October, 1900; Vol. 12. No. 1, 
January, 1901 ; Vol. 12. No. 2, April. 1901. 

The Historic Quarterly. \'ol. 2, No. 3, by Manches- 
ter Historical Association. 

Manual of the New Hampshire Historical Society. 

The West Mrginia Historical Magazine. A'ol. 1, 
No. 1. 

James Rumsey, the Liyentor of the Steamboat, by 
Geo. ^1. Baltzhooyer, Jr. 

Chicago Historical Society. Reports, Noyembcr 21, 
1899, and February 12. 1900. 



358 OLD residents' historical association. 

I.ynii Historical Society. Register for 1<^99. ' 

lleport of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Lake 
Mohawk Conference on International Arhitration. 1900. 

Elislia Bartlett, a Rhode Island Philosopher, by 
Wm. Osier, ^l. D. 

Proceedinos of the New Eno;land Historical Genoa- 
logical Society at Annual Meeting, January 11, 1<S99. 

Annual Report of the Secretary to the Board of 
Regents of the University of California, June 30, 1900. 

Manchester Historical Association. Collections. 1899. 

Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
Vol. 8, No. '2, July, 1900; Vol. 8, No. 3, October, 190() ; 
Vol. 8, No. 4, January. 1901. 

The Minutes of the Ninetv-eiahth Annual Meetincr 
of the General Association of Congregational Churches 
of Massachusetts, 1900. 

Charter and By-Laws of the Wyoming Historical and 
Genealogical Society. 

An Address at the dedication of the building of the 
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, by Charles Francis 
Adams. 

An Address. '• Our New Interests." by Whitelaw 
Reid, at the University of California. 

A INIcmoir of Josephine Mcllen Ayer. widow of the 
late James C. Ayer. 

City Documents of the City of Lowell for the years 
1898 and 1899. 



ANNUAL REPORT. 359 



There have been live deaths since our h^st annual 



meetni"'. 



OBITUARIES. 

Mr. PUny RolUns died on June 1. 1900, at his home, 
No. 15 Fourth Street, at the age of 66 years. Mr. Rol- 
lins was employed on the Massachusetts Corporation for 
upwards thirty-eight years, and was highly respected as 
an upright, capable man and faithful in the discharge of 
his duties. He was not widely known, but in the circle 
of his acquaintances he was loved and honored for his 
fidelity in dealings with others, and for his uncpiestioned 
integrity of life. 

Mr. Edward J\I. Sargent died at his home, 23 Fort 
Hill Avenue. Thursday evening. July 1"2. 1900, at the 
age of 79 years and 8 months. Mr. Sargent was born in 
Littleton, N. H., in 1S20 and came to Lowell when he 
Avas thirteen years old and resided here continuously until 
the day of his death. He was identified with the express 
business from the days of its beginning in this locality. 
In 1848 he founded what was known in later years as 
the " Old Sargent Express Company," from its long 
establishment. After more than twenty years of service 
in this employment he was obliged on account of failing 
evesi"ht to "ive the more active charge of the business 
into other hands. He was actively interested in procur- 
ing the charter for the Lowell and Andover Railroad, 
which road in little time became absorbed in the Boston 
and Maine. He was one of the oldest residents of the 
city, and on account of the wide range of the duties of 
his calling he soon became a familiar figure in the 



360 OLD residents' historical association. 

community. He was respected as an honest, fnithful man 
in business and in private life and is missed by a large 
circle of ac([uaintances. 

^Ir. Henry A. Lord, of 45 Marshall Street, died at 
his home July IG, 1900, at the a^e of 77 years. Mr. 
Lord was for a long time employed as bookkeeper in 
the office of the Hon. James W. Bennett. He was an 
upright, unostentatious, conscientious man. He avoided 
publicity, but was always faithful in the discharge of every 
duty imposed upon him. He Avas a man of strong con- 
victions and was never afraid of expressing his opinions. 
The few who knew him intimatelv miss him as a wise 
counsellor and a man of sterling integrity. 

Mr. Daniel Gage, one of our oldest and most substan- 
tial citizens, died on the 8th of February, 1901, at the age 
of 7'i years. Mr. Gage was widely known as a dealer in 
ice, wood and coal. He was born in Pelham, N. H., and 
came to Lowell in 1855. He was a man of ample means, 
faithful and honest in business always, and the recipient 
of the esteem of the community. He was never ambi- 
tious for pul)lic office but always attentive to his rights 
and duties as a citizen. It seemed as if everybody knew 
and respected " Dan " Gage for his honesty and his 
thorough reliability. He was generous in a great degree 
but never anxious to make a display of kindly acts. He 
was a familiar character on the street, and when he died 
men said •' A good man has gone." There is no better 
eulogy than this. 

Mr. James B. Trueworthy died at his home, 014 
Bridge Street, April 15, 1901, at the age of 72 years and 
11 months. Mr. Trueworthy was born in Unity. Me., and 
came to Lowell in 1S48, Avhere he lived continuously until 



ANNUAL REPORT. 361 



the time of his decease. During the hist years of his life 
he was entrusted with large responsibilities as a collector 
of rents and duties kindred to this calling, and in this 
position was highly prized as a strictly accurate, conscien- 
tious man. As a citizen he was quiet and unassuming and 
greatly esteemed for probity and excellence of character. 

This is a brief record of the five of our associates 
who have passed away since our last annual meeting. 
One by one our members leave us as the years roll by. 
and the world moves on seemingly forgetful of personal 
qualities once highly prized. But the memory of a life of 
inteoritv is never whollv lost. The record of individual 
good citizenship is the standard by Avhich the character 
of a community is judged. For each of them, Avhen the 
time shall come, may the record read, " He was faithful 
to the end." 

Respectfully submitted. 

SOLON W. STEVENS, 

President. 



Annual Report of the President of the Old Resi- 
dents' Historical Association for 1901-1002. 

May -28. 190'2. 

To THE ^Members of the Old lvESIDE^-Ts' Historical 
Association of Lowell. 

It becomes my duty to ao;ain submit an annual report 
relative to the work and welfare of this Association during 
the year now reaching its close. 

It is not necessary to recite here the incidents and 
results of the meetings which have been recently held with 
reference to the merging of this voluntary Association 
into a corporate body, for the records of the secretary and 
the reports of the committees which have been accepted 
and adopted Avill be brought to your attention at another 
time. It is a matter earnestly to be hoped for and worked 
for, that by the change which has taken place a new 
enthusiasm may be ins|)ired, and a new acti^ ity manifested 
in carrying on the useful purpose for which the Associa- 
tion was organized and for which it has labored so long. 

There have been, so far as is known, seventeen deaths 
since our last annual meeting. It is possible that the 
names of some who have passed away may have escaped 
official notice, but the following are the names of those 
whose decease has been recorded. 

Mr. Asalud D. Pufter died at 62 Highland Street, 
August 19, 1902, at 81 years of age. He was born in 
Sudbury, Mass., ^Nlay 20. 1S20, and came to Lowell with 
his parents in 1825. He was educated in our public 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



363 



schools, and in ISio engaged in the grocery business; 
afterward a partnership was formed with Page *5<: Fay. 
Later he established the firm known as A. D. Puffer & 
Son, at 109 Branch Street. Me was one year a member 
of the Common Council, and in the year 1869 he was a 
member of the Legislature. Mr. Puffer was widely 
known and highly respected both in business and in social 
circles, lie was for many years a Trustee and \ice- 
Presid( nt of the ]Merrimack River Savings Bank. 

Hon. Jeremiah Crowley died at his home in this city, 
on September 22, 1901. at the age of 69 years and 8 
months. Mr. Crowley was born in Lowell on January 
12, 1833, and attended the public schools of this city luitil 
his thirteenth year, when he went to work on the Law- 
rence Manufacturing Corporation. In 1860 he entered 
the office of Timothy A. Crowley, Lscp, as a law student. 
In 1861, when President Lincoln called for seventy-five 
thousand troops, he promptly volunteered and joined the 
old Sixth Massachusetts Regiment with which he marched 
through Baltimore at the time of the memorable assault 
made by inhabitants of that city upon Massachusetts' 
soldiers. When his regiment was mustered out of service 
in August of that year, Mr." Crowley sought to re-enlist 
but was rejected on account of physical disability. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1868, and at once entered 
upon an active practice. He was a member of the Board 
of Aldermen in 1873-74-77-78-84-86-93-96, being Chair- 
man of that Board in the years 1 874-77-86. He was State 
Senator in 1881, and was Mayor of the City of Lowell 
in 1899 and 1900. Mr. Crowley's career is an object 
lesson in illustration of the result of an education which 
a man may give himself under adverse circumstances 



364 OLD RESIDENTS* HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



when he is determined and persistent in his efforts. He 
had hosts of friends, and died leavino- behind the record 
of an honorable, brilhant, and usefnl Kfe. 

Mr. Artemas S. Tyler died at his home on Fairmount 
Street, October 14. 1901, at the age of 77 years. He was 
born in what was formerly kno^^'n as Middlesex Milage, 
Nov. 2, 1H24. and was the son of Silas and Fanny Stanley 
Tyler. He was edncated in the pnblic schools of LomcIL 
At sixteen years of age he entered the employment of the 
late Hon. John Nesmith, who then carried on. under the 
name of the Chelmsford Company, the plant formerly run 
at the Navy Yard by the IMerrimack Woolen Company, the 
mills at ^V^est Chelmsford and the old Whitney Mills. 
Four years later he was employed as clerk in an office in 
Taunton, and while there, on attaining his majority, he 
received and accepted an offer to be a clerk in the 
Railroad Bank at Lowell under the late Samuel W. 
Stickney, the cashier. In 1850, in connection with others 
he started the Prescott Bank as a State bank, which institu- 
tion was then located at the corner of Central and jNlarket 
streets. He was the first cashier of the Prescott Bank. 
In 1854 he started the Five Cent Savings Bank and 
became its first treasurer. Mr. Tyler conducted both of 
these institutions for seventeen years and in 1871 resigned 
as cashier of the Prescott Bank. In 1873 he was a 
member of the Common Council of Lowell and in 1874 
and 1875 he represented this city in the Legislature. 

For more than twenty years he continuously filled the 
position of vestryman of St. Anne's Church and was 
reearded as one of the most influential members of this 
time-honored parish. In his long experience of more 
than fortv vears as Treasurer of the Five Cent Savin I'-s 



ANNUAL REPORT. 365 



Bank, Mr. Tyler earned the enviable reputation of a 
skillful financier and an able adviser. lie was a genial, 
lovable man and gained the respect and affection of hosts 
of friends. Indeed, he commanded the esteem of all who 
knew him. He was not only an enthusiast in but an intel- 
ligent critic of music, and in the early days of Lowell was 
a member of the Sinfonia Society and later an honorarv 
member of the Lowell Choral Society. But nowhere is 
he more lovingly remembered than here in the Old 
Residents' Historical Association. He was a member of 
its Executive Committee, and was always zealous for 
the promotion of its welfare. He was a true gentleman 
and he will be sadly missed not only in his delightful 
home but in his church and in this communitv as a 
citizen of unblemished character. 

Mr. Horatio Wood. Jr., died at his home on Liberty 
Street on Oct. 12. 1901. at the age of 66 years. He was 
born in Walpole, Oct. "Jl, lSo5, and came to Lowell in 
1844. His death was the result of injuries received the 
day previous when alighting from an electric car on West- 
ford Street. Evervthing that medical skill could suggest 
was done for his relief, but all to no avail. Mr. ^A'ood 
was educated in the public schools of Lowell and graduated 
at Harvard College in the class of 1857. For about five 
succeeding years he served as tutor in Yonkers, N. Y., 
and in Taliaferro. Yd. From 186'2 until 1875 he carried 
on, with Miss Elizabeth HaA en Appleton, a large and flour- 
ishing school for young ladies in Cincinnati, Ohio. Upon 
relinquishing this position he returned to li^e in Lowell. 
He was a man of quiet habits, refined tastes, and of excel- 
lent literary attainments. In his student days he was a 
superior classical scholar, and during life he maintained 



366 OLD residents' historical associatiom. 



familiarity with Greek and Latin authors of whose writings 
he was particnbiiiy fond. He was a thorough gentleman 
and a true friend. By those who knew his worth and had 
tested his en\iable qualities he Avill long be affectionately 
remembered. 

^[r. George F. Offutt. one of our most prosperous 
business men, died at 313 High Street on Nov. '2. 1901, at 
the asfe of 63 years. He was born in Southampton. N. H., 
in 1838, and was of English ancestry. After leaving the 
public schools of Lowell he was engaged as a clerk in 
the office of Mr. Person Noyes of this city in 1859, and 
remained in this position until 1866. He then went to 
work for his father in the furniture business on Prescott 
Street. For a few years he was associated with Mr. 
George W. Faergroves in partnership in business, and 
afterwards with Mr. David Whittaker. This partnership 
was dissolved in June. 1895. whereupon the firm of 
Offutt 6c Pierce was established. Mr. Offutt was a quiet, 
unpretentious, honest. Christian man, and will be lovingly 
remembered by those who knew his many excellent 
qualities. 

Mr. L-a M. Chase died at his home on the Mammoth 
Road, Nov. '27, 1901, at the age of 80 years. He was 
born in Dcering, N. H., May 11, 1821. Mr. Chase was 
one of our oldest and most highly esteemed citizens. The 
writer of this report has been unable to obtain any details 
of his business life, hence no record of that kind is 
attempted here. But Mr. Chase was widely known as a 
man of strict integrity, of honest dealings and a kindly 
disposition, and as such he will long be remembered. 

Mr. Lafayette Richardson died, according to the 
published reports, from accidentally shooting himself in 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



367 



December. 1901. He Avas for many years employed in 
the Lowell Machine Shop as a shipping agent. He lived 
at No. 15 Grand Street, and was 61 years of age. He is 
spoken of bv those who knew him as a warm-hearted, 
genial man. 

Mr. George AYebster died in Central ville on Decem- 
ber 11, 1901, at the advanced age of 91 years. Mr. 
Webster was one of onr oklest and most highly esteemed 
citizens. Although more than four score and ten years of 
age, his general health was remarkably good until a few 
davs preceding his death, caused by the rupture of a 
blood vessel produced by an accident when stepping out 
of a sleigh. Mr. Webster was born in Newburyport, and 
came to Lowell in 1823. He became associated with his 
father in the construction of mill property and was well 
known among the mill men of that time. He was mar- 
ried to Miss Sarah Shepard in 1835, and for the greater 
portion of his life lived in Central ville. He was a man of 
refined tastes, quiet in his habits, firm in his convictions, 
and of unblemished character. He came to Lowell at the 
time when the town was about to merge into a city, and 
lived to see it grow to a population of upward eighty 
thousand people. It will be remembered, perhaps, that 
he occupied a seat on the platform during the exercises 
appertaining to the seventy-fifth anniversary of the organi- 
zation of the town of Lowell, held in Huntington Hall in 
March, 1901, and that a pleasant allusion to his presence 
at that time was made by the speakers on that occasion. 

Mr. Edwin Cornock died at 28 Blossom Street, on 
January 8, 1902, at the age of 63 years and 9 months. 
Mr. Cornock was widely known as a dealer in boots and 
shoes. He was born in Gloucestershire, England, and 



368 OLD residents' historical association. 



came to this country in 1868. He was connected Avith 
several fraternal organizations, in addition to his member- 
ship in this society. He was known and respected as an 
upright citizen, and a straightforward, honest business 
man. 

Mr. Sam Chapin died on the r2th of January, 1902, 
at his home, 198 Mammoth Road. He was born in Acton, 
Mass., in June, 183-1, and came to Lowell in early youth 
to engage in mill work, in which line of employment he 
continued for the greater portion of his life. For awhile 
he was identified with the Lowell Crayon Company. He 
served as alderman in 1899, and although active and 
influential in political circles, this is said to be the only 
office he ever held. He was in many respects quite 
eccentric, independent in thought and action, but was 
always regarded as honest and sincere. He was greatly 
esteemed b}- those Avho knew him well, and he is 
remembered as an upright, conscientious citizen. 

Mr. Isaac Cooper died January 26, 1902, at the 
home of his son-in-law, Mr. Joseph B. Goodwin, after a 
long and useful life of upward 95 years. Mr. Cooper 
was born in Stockport, England, and came to this country 
when two and one-half years old, and came to Lowell 
from West Boylston in 1835. His life was mainly 
identified with the manufacturing interests of Lowell. 
For more than forty years he was an overseer on the 
Lawrence Corporation, and in this capacity he won the 
universal respect of those under his charge. He served 
at one time as a member of the Common Council and at 
another as a representative in the State Legislature. He 
was an old school gentleman, strictly upright in all his 



AiS>'UAL REPORT. 



369 



dealino-s, o-enial in his intercourse ^vith his fellow men, 
and a reliable friend. He was widely known and 
nniversally respected. 

Mr. J. Frank Page died in Lowell, February 16, 
19()-2. He was born in Lowell, March 10, 1836, hence his 
age was nearly 6Q years. Mr. Page lived in this city the 
greater part of his life, was educated in our public schools 
and was known as a bright, genial man, respected highly 
by his many friends. 

;\Ir. Daniel W. Home, one of our best known citizens, 
died on April 1, 1902, at his home on Belleyue Street. 
Mr. Home was born in Rochester. X. H.. ^lay 4, 1823, 
and was of Scotch ancestry. He came to Lowell when 
about seventeen years old, as an apprentice to the late 
Edward F. ^^'atson, to learn the carpenter's trade. After 
following this line of work for about twenty-five years, he 
enaao-ed in the roofing business, in which he continued 
about twenty years, since which time he has been actively 
interested in the coal business, under the firm name and 
style of Home & Son. He was a public- spirited, enter- 
prising business man, widely known and highly esteemed 
for his honesty and integrity. 

Mr. Daniel M. Xiles died April 9, 1902, at his home 
on ^Middlesex Street, aged 88 years and 5 months. Mr. 
Niles was of revolutionary stock, being the son of ^Ir. 
Thomas Xiles, who saw active service in the war of the 
Revolution and lived to be 106 years old. Mr. Xiles 
came to Lowell in 1838, and obtained employment on the 
Lawrence Corporation, and was for many years the over- 
seer of its largest weaving room. He was unobtrusive in 
his habits, but a close student of municipal affairs, 



370 OLD residents' historical association. 



although never ambitious to hold public office. He had 
great faith in the future of his adopted city, and to the 
last of his life took deep interest in its welfare. He was 
most highly esteemed as a citizen and as a man. 

^Ir. AMlliam H. Anderson, one of the ablest lawyers 
in Middlesex County, died at his beautiful home on 
Andover Street, April li, 19()"i. at the age of 60 years. 
Mr. Anderson was born in Londonderry, now known as 
Derry. N. H. After his preparatory course at Kimball 
Union Academy, in Meriden, N. .H., and at Phillips 
Academy. Andover. Mass., he entered Yale Colleo;e in 
1855 and graduated in 1(S59. After a brief residence in 
Natchez, Mississippi, and in New Orleans. Lonisana, he 
came to Lowell and began the study of hiAv in the office 
of Isaac S. Morse and George Stevens, and continued 
there until his admission to the bar in lS6"i. On the dis- 
solution of the firm of Morse & Stevens. Mr. Anderson 
became a partner with ]\Lr. Stevens, which business 
relation Avas continued until 1875. when it ceased 
because of the election of Mr. Stevens to the office 
of District Attorney for Middlesex County. The firm 
known as Stevens & Anderson were the first tenants 
in the building known as Barristers Hall, after its 
conversion from religious to secular uses, and Mr. 
Anderson continued to use the same offices up to the time 
of his death, a period of more than 39 years. He was 
a member of the Common Council in 1868 and 1869 and 
served in the State liCgislature in 1871 and 1872. Since 
that time he devoted himself exclusively to his profession. 
He had a judicial temperament, was deliberate, dignified, 
patient and thorough, and because of these qualities he 
took high rank among the foremost lawyers of this 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



871 



county. He was affable, courteous, considerate, lovable, 
kind, and always a "entleman. Behind a serious exterior 
he had a vein of humor and a love for fun to which, when 
free from business cares, he gave generous indulgence 
when amid congenial surroundings. He was a tireless 
worker in his profession, a wise and judicious counsellor, 
an able advocate, and faithful to the interests of his 
clients to the last. He was universally esteemed for his 
intea-rity and lo^ed bv those who knew him intimately. 
He will be sadly missed by his associates in the legal 
profession and l)y tlie comnunnty at large, because of his 
ability and his unsullied character. 

]Mr. J. Tyler Stevens died at his liome. corner of Park 
and Andover streets, on ]\farch 13. U)()-J. He was born in 
Ware, Mass., Dec. "iO. 1S44. He came to Lowell in IST-f. 
He was the assistant of his grandfather, the late Jonathan 
Tyler, in the management and care f)f large real estate 
interests, and at the time of Mr. Tyler's death he became 
his successor in this line of business. Mr. Stevens was 
widely known in Inisiness and social circles and was highly 
esteemed in this community. He was active in ])olitical 
orsranizations and was a member of the Common Council 
in lcSSl-8'2. He will be greatly missed by large numbers 
of relatives and friends, as an upright, enterprising busi- 
ness man. 

Mr. James Howard, one of the oldest and most highly 
esteemed of our citizens, died on Sunday, May 'J5, at 
the age of upAvard NO years. Mr. Howard was born in 
Weare, N. H.. in 1S21, and came to Lowell in 1838. He 
first entered the employment of the late Horace Howard, 
for many years known prominently in the coal and lumber 
business. Afterward he became the chief accountant in 



372 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCTATIOM. 



the office of A. L. Brooks & Co., where he remained for 
thirteen years. He then, for the following seventeen years, 
served as clerk for Mr. ^^'illianl H. Ward of this city. 
He was for twenty years treasnrer of the Eliot Church, 
of which he was an ardent and devoted member. He was 
quiet and unostentatious in his habits, strong- in his attach- 
ments, and of strict integrity of character. He will be 
sadly missed in the narrow home circle, in the church 
Avliich he loved, and in this community. 

Although ^Ir. John Uavis. a well known and highly 
respected lawyer who died on March 11, 190"i, was not 
a memb'^r of this Association, it has been considered 
appropriate that a brief obituary notice be embodied in 
this report. Mr. Davis was born in Hubbardston, Mass., 
March 4, 1S:31. lu his early years he came to Lowell and 
lived with the late Edward F. Watson, who, with the late 
Elijah M. lleed of Tewksbury, cherished a strong friend- 
ship for Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis was widely known through- 
out the Covuity of Middlesex as a lawyer, having been in 
practice for more than forty years. After leaving the 
Lowell High School he entered Dartmouth College, and 
after completing his course of study at this institution he 
entered the h\\\ office of D. S. and G. F. Richardson as a 
student. Since his admission to the bar he acquired a 
large practice, especially in conveyancing and in matters 
particularly within the jurisdiction of the Probate Court. 
He died suddenly on the morning of March 11. in his 
office in Central Block. He Avas at one time President of 
the Old Lowell National Bank, and later attorney for the 
Mechanics Savins-s Bank of this citv. Bv his will, after 
the payment of debts and the disposition of about $5000 
in specific legacies, he left all the rest, residue and 
remainder of his estate, real, personal and mixed, to the 



ANNUAL REPORT. 373 



Trustees of the Lowell City Library. ^Ir. Davis was an 
indefatigable worker, devoted to his |)rofession, and 
universally respected as an able, upright, conscientious 
man. 'His home was in Tewlvsbury. whence he w^as 
buried. His age was about 71 years. 

The Hon. Charles Augustus Ropes Dimon was not a 
member of the Old Residents' Historical Association, but 
the prominence of his official position and his recent death 
while in active service as Mayor of our city afford appro- 
priate reason for a brief ol)ituary notice in this report. 
Mayor Dimon was born in Fairfield. Conn., in 1^41. He 
died in this city on ^May '21, 19()"2, at the age of bl years. 
He was prominent as a business man, a ^"eteran soldier, a 
faithful municipal magistrate, a devoted husband, and a 
genid gentleman. When the tolling bells announced his 
death the first words which came to the lips of the listener 
were such as these: '^ The little children and the poor 
people of this city will miss him sadly.'" It is difficult to 
speak a better eulogy of a man than that. He was 
soldier-like in his struggle with his insiduous disease, and 
gallantly yielded to the inevitable in the prime of his 
years. In business, political, and official life his motivc^s 
were sincere, and his conduct conscientious. As a polit- 
ical opponent he was honorable, courteous, and fair. He 
did his duty in public life as he understood it, without 
fear and without hope of favor. He will be missed as a 
citizen, and as a faithful })ublic officer. In private life he 
was lovable, companionable, and worthy of confidence. 
May his many virtues be lovingly and long remembered 
by his countless host of friends. 

When, on the third day of May. 1869. Dr. John (). 
Green, the first President of the organization, welcomed 



374 OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



his associates to the First Annual Meeting of the Ohl 
Residents" Historical Association, he congratulated them 
that a complete organization had been made certain and 
that it was in readiness to engage in any api)ropriate work. 
He made note of the fact that the city of Lowell was at 
that time thirty-three years old, with a po])ulation of 
forty-five thousand inhabitants. During the thirty-three 
years which have elapsed since this first annual meeting 
the population of Lowell has more than doubled in 
number. This Society came into existence in the 
December of lfS68. In the interim of a score and 
fourteen years it has stood in readiness to do its appro- 
priate work, which work was. in the language of its 
constitution as then written, to '• collect, arrange, preserve, 
and perhaps from time to time publish any facts relating 
to the history of the city of Lowell, as also to gather and 
keep all printed or written documents as well as traditional 
evidence of e\ery description relating to the city." Five 
published volumes of data, relative to the welfare of our 
beloved city, with material enough for the publication of 
another volume, are offered as evidence of some of the 
" appropriate work " which has been accomplished under 
the auspices of this organization. If under the law of 
evolution it shall merge into a new and larger organic 
structure u])on a broader basis and with increased respon- 
sibilities, let us zealously labor with renewed enthusiasm 
to increase its usefulness and enlarge its sphere of 
influence. 

But what of the noble, stalwart men who instituted 
this old Association? The most of them, nearly all, live 
but in memory now. Their names are synonyms of 
unsullied character, unswerving loyalty, tireless enterprise, 



A^'^UAL REPORT. 375 



and splendid i)ersonal worth. Impressed by the appalHiig 
frequency of the solemn admonitions whereb}' so many of 
our prominent citizens have recently passed away in obe- 
dience to the summons which none can disobev. I cannot 
more appropriately conclude this report than by quoting 
the words which Dr. Greene uttered in allusion to those 
whose toils and duties were ended during the first year of 
his administration : — 

'•Happy will be for us, when our summons comes, 
the consciousness that our professions have been practised 
under the solemn sanctions of Christianity, and their last 
exercises closed with a reasonable, religious and holv 
hope." 

Respectfully submitted. 

SOLON W. STEVENS. 

President. 

Lowt'll, May 28, 190:>. 



The Last of the Sachems of the Merrimac River 
Indians. By Charles Cowley, LL.D. Read 
May 2S, 1S91.'' 



It was fortunate that the iirst English settlements on 
the shores of Massachusetts Bay were postponed, from 
various causes, until after the year 1617, when the Indian 
population had been greatly reduced in number by La 
Gripi^e. It Avas also fortunate for the colonists that 
several of the principal sachems who were then in 
authority here were men of a peaceable disposition, and 
bade them welcome to these shores. Such was Massasoit, 
the friend of Winslow and the Pilgrims of Plymouth ; and 
such were Passaconaway and his son Wannalancet, whose 
career we review today. A brief sketch of the father 
will form a fitting prelude to that of the son. 

Passaconaway Avas the chief sachem of the Indians in 
the Merrimac A allev when the tirst Enoflish settlers 
came. lie Avas born in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
and died in the reign of Charles the Second; but neither 
his birth-date nor his death-date is known to us. His 
name in English means " The Child of the Bear ; "' and if 
he acquired that name in his maturer years, according to 
the Indian custom, we may infer that he was supposed 
to possess some of the characteristics of the bear. 

The Merrimac River made its first appearance to 
Europeans in 1()()4 : unless the Norsemen of Xorumbega 
heard of it (as the late Professor Horsford supposed) six 
hundred years before. AVe learn from De Monts that, 
Avhile talking Avith the Indians on the banks of the River 
St. LaAvrence in the summer of IGO-t, Champlain was 

♦ Previously read before the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Tames, and the 
New England Historic Genealot'ical Society. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 377 



told by them that there was a great river far to the 
south, which flowed into the sea, which they called the 
Merrimac. 

How long the Abaters of the Merrimac had mur- 
mured to the Indians' ears before Passaconaway's time Ave 
do not know ; but a few years ago Mr. Charles W. Pres- 
cott of Concord, ^lass., uncovered upon his farm in that 
town two Indian fireplaces, which have been visited bv 
geologists, who, judging from the depth of earth accunui- 
lated upon them (some four or five feet), conjecture that 
thev may be four or five thousand vears old. These fire- 
places were round in form and consisted of stones, which 
were heated by burning wood upon them ; and b^ the 
heat of these stones, after brushing aside the tires, 
the Indians baked their cake and cooked their venison. 
When the Lowell and Nashua Railroad was built in 
1836, quite a number of Indian fireplaces were uncovered, 
several feet below the surface of the soil. 

During the first twenty years of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, various navigators visited the adjacent coasts : Gos- 
nold, Pring, C'hamplain, Weymouth, Smith, ^'ines and 
others. (The short-lived Popham colony, planted in 1606, 
was within Passaconaway"s domain.) These navigators 
and colonists, of course, communicated with some of the 
Indians ; but no records now extant show that they had 
any communication with Passaconaway. If the men who 
settled on the Saco in 1623, or those who settled at Dover 
Xeck, N. H., in the spring of 1624, had any communica- 
tion with Passaconaway at the time of their settlements, 
there is no record of the fact extant. His name apj^ears 
for the first time in the summer of 1624. in the narrative 
of Captain Christopher Lovett's voyage from Bristol in 



'378 OLD KESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOL L\ 1 I().\ . 



old England to Xew England, in the ship Archangel, 
edited by the Hon. James Phinney Baxter and pnblished 
by the Gorges Society at Portland. Maine. 

Entering the Piscataqua River near Odiorne's Point, 
where Gorges' colony had landed a few months before, 
Captain Lovett lay at anchor several days, and there, 
among others, met Passaconaway, whom he calls Conway 
— perhaps because he supposed that to be his surname, or 
perhaps because he wished to please Lord Conway, who 
was one of the promoters of his enterprise in England. 

There is nothing in Lovett's narrative to indicate that 
Passaconaway was surprised to see white men or the ships 
of white men. He or his people had probably seen some 
of the French and English vessels which had previously 
touched upon his domain. Captain John Smith, who 
explored the adjacent coast in 1614, wrote of it as follows :-^— 

" Naiemkeck, though it be more rocky ground, for 
AiK/oan is sandy, not much inferiour neither for the 
harbour, nor anything I could perceive but the multitude 
of people: from hence doth stretch into the sea the faire 
headland Tracjabigzanda, now called Cape An^ fronted 
with the three lies Avee called the three Turkes heads ; to 
the north of this doth enter a great Bav, where we found 
some habitations and come fields, they report a faire 
River and at least 30 habitations doth possesse this 
Country. ****** ]jyxt the French haAing 
remained here neere six weekes, left nothing for us to 
take occasion to examine the Inhabitants relations, vi::. if 
there be three thousand people upon those Isles, and that 
the River doth pierce many daies iourney the entrailes of 
that Country." * 

* John Smith's "The Generall Historic of Virginia, New Kngland. etc." (London, 
1632 J, pp. 214, 21.'). 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. T^O 



This '-faire ri^er" could have been no other than the 
Merrimac ; and the Indians whose "report" Smith men- 
tions were in amity with Passaconaway. if not actually 
subject to his authority. 

After Lovett's -visit, Passaconaway was frequently 
mentioned by writers of his time — by Thomas Morton in 
his '• New English Canaan," by Governor Winthrop and 
by many others. He had doubtless heard of the landing of 
the Pilgrims at Plymouth four years before ; and tliev had 
doubtless heard of him and of the tribe of which he was 
chief. 

It was, perhaps, about the year 1628 that Passacon- 
away gave his daughter M'eetamoo in marriage to Winne- 
purket. the Sachem of Saugus. John G. Whittier has 
sung of this marriage in the •• Bridal of Pennacook," in 
which he thus describes Weetamoo : — 

"Child of tlR^ t'orest! strong- and free, 
Slight-robed, with loosely floAving' hair, 
She swam the lake or clinibed the tree, 
Ov stniek the flying l»ird in air." 

This •• King's Daughter " was married with festivities 
which have never been surpassed in the Merrnnac A'alley ; 
and of course Wannalancet •• assisted " at them. A report 
of this " swell wedding." such as would appear in the 
newspapers, if it took place in our time, would be very 
interesting, but none has come down to us. 

A gay and festive throng escorted the lovely bride 
from her father's rendezvous at Pennacook, now Concord, 
N. H., on the Merrimac, to her husband's home on the 
Saugus. Some time after, the young wife made a visit to 
her father, and her husband furnished her with an escort 
worthy of a queen. But when she was ready to return, 



380 OLD RESIDE>JTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



her father, for some reason which has never been 
explained, instead of furnishing her with an escort such as 
came with her. sent a messenger to ^Mnnepurket to come 
to Pennacook and take her back. His son-inlaw resented 
this indignity. '• ^yhcn she departed from me," said 
Winnepurket, by a messenger to Passaconaway. '• I caused 
mv men to escort her to vour dwcUin"- as became a chief. 
She now having an intention to return to me, I expected 
the same courtesy in return." ^'\'hereupon Passaconaway 
became angry too, and Drake, the historian of Boston, 
thinks that '• this terminated the connection of the new 
husband and wife.'" But it would be chilling to think 
that two loving hearts should be separated on such a 
punctilio. And yet. even among ourselves, trifles light as 
this lla^■e sometimes started married couples on the road 
ending at the divorce court. 

In 1()'29, as chief sachem of the ^lerrimac River 
Indians, Passaconaway is said to have joined with Runna- 
wit, the sagamore of PaAvtucket, and two other sachems, 
in a deed conveying to the Rev. John Wheelwright and 
four others all the land lying between the Merrimac and 
Piscataqua Rivers, east of Pawtucket Falls. For nearly 
two hundred years the genuineness of this deed Avas not 
disputed ; but in 1820. James Savage denounced it as 
spurious ; and there Avere others who concurred with him. 
The arguments for and against this deed are ably mar- 
shaled in rhe memoir of AMieelwright, prepared h\ 
Governor Charles H. Bell of New Hampshire, and pub- 
lished by the Prince Society at Boston ; but they cannot 
be considered here. In later years, Passaconaway and 
Wheelwright, the Pagan and the Puritan, met many 
times ; and it is due to both of them to sav that, so far as 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 381 

the records show, they met and they parted always as 
friends. Wheelwright was a friend of Oliver Cromwell 
in his college days, and continned his friend until his 
death. 

In 1655-5G, he visited England, of which Crom- 
well was then '' Lord Protector," a king in fact, though 
never crowned ; and was Cromwell's guest at Whitehall, 
and" probably gave him an account of Passaconaway, as he 
afterwards gave Passaconawa}- a ^ery interesting account 
of Cromwell and Cromwell's public and domestic life. 

In 1631, Governor Thomas Dudley wrote a letter to 
the Countess of Lincoln, whom for many vears he had 
served as steward, in which he says: "Upon the river 
Merrimac is seated a sagamore (Passaconaway) having 
under his command four or fi^e hundred men ; " meaning, 
of course, men capable of fighting, and implying that the 
whole tribe numbered from fifteen hundred to two thou- 
sand souls. Dudley also informs the Countess that, for 
about eight years previously, diAers merchants of Bristol 
and other ports in the AVest of England had sent ships to 
this coast every year during the fishing season to trade for 
beaver. 

Dudley's letter gives us a hint of the want of house- 
hold accommodations which the colonial sires and colonial 
dames then suffered, saving- that he had no table to write 
on, and no place to sit but by his kitchen fire, and that he 
had to write upon his knee. 

Passaconaway's friendliness to the colonists was 
shown on manv occasions, sometimes under verv trving' 
circumstances. In September, 1632. one Jenkins of Cape 
Porpoise, in Maine, having been murdered while asleep in 
a wigwam of one of his tribe, Passaconaway at once caused 
the murderer to be arrested and delivered to the colonial 



382 OLD RESlDEiSTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



authorities for trial and punishment, without waiting for 
any requisition, although Cape Porpoise was upon his 
extreme limits. 

In September, 1G38, certain commissioners were 
appointed to lay out the northern boundary of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony, including New Hampshire. They 
ascended the Merrimac Valley three miles beyond the 
junction of the Pemigewasset and Winnepissiogee rivers, 
where the city of Franklin now stands, and cut a deep 
mark in a great pine tree ; but their expedition was other- 
wise without recorded incident. 

In 1()4'2. upon a suspicion that a conspiracy was 
forming among the Indians to extirpate the English, armed 
men were sent out to arrest some of the principal sachems. 
Forty men were sent to arrest Passaconaway, but failed to 
find him. Thev however arrested Wannalancet, and led 
him with a rope in a most insulting manner. He con- 
trived to loosen the rope and escape, but was fired upon, 
and retaken. His squaw was also captured. 

Upon ascertaining that the conspiracy, which they had 
suspected, had no existence, the colonial authorities sent 
excuses to Passaconaway for their rash conduct, and an 
invitation to come to Boston and confer with them. His 
reply shows how he appreciated the outrage done to 
Wannalancet and his squaw: '-Tell the English, when they 
restore my son and his squaw, I will talk with them." 

In the same year (1642), Darby Field of Portsmouth, 
N. H., made the first ascent of Mount Washington ever 
made by a white man. 

In 164-1:, Passaconaway signed an agreement which is 
still extant, placing himself under the colonial authorities. 

In 1647, the Rev. John Eliot made his first visit to 
Pawtucket Falls for missionary work among the Indians. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 383 



It was in the tishiiig season, and a JiTeat multitude of the 
natives was there. Passaconaway and t\\ o of his sons 
were there ; but they withdrew on EUot's approach, fear- 
ing, perhaps, a repetition of the outrage perpetrated upon 
them in 1642. 

But when Eliot visited Pawtucket in 1648, Passacon- 
away and his sons remained, and listened with respectful 
attention to his ]n-eaching. Eliot's text was the ninth 
verse of the first chapter of ^lalachi, which he paraphrased 
thus: -'From the rising of the sun, to the going down 
of the same, thy name shall be great among the Indians ; 
and in every place prayers shall be offered to thy name, 
pure prayers, for thy name shall be great among the 
Indians.'' Then and there began a friendship between 
Eliot on the one hand and Passaconaway and Wannalancet 
on the other, which was broken only by death. In a 
letter, dated October 29, 1649, Eliot says that Passacon- 
away, after hearing him again, ''did exceeding earnestly 
and importunately invite me to come and live at his place 
and teach them." After this, Passaconaway and Wanna- 
lancet heard Eliot again and again, not only where Lowell 
now stands, but also at Nashua, at Manchester, and 
perhaps at other places. 

In 1650, Mrs. Anne Bradstrect, wife of Governor 
Bradstreet and daughter of Governor Dudley, 

'•The has hleii of that ancient time," 

published in London a volume of her poems, in one of 
which she refers, though not by name, to the Merrimac 
River, on whose banks she then dwelt in Andover. She 
is described as the •' Tenth Muse recently sprung up in 
America." 



384 OLD residents' historical association. 



She found New England, as many others have since 
found her. Hke 

" Caledonia, stern and wild, 
Meet nurse for a i)oetic child." 

In 1{)52. Captain Simon Willard, Captain Edward 
Johnson, and two others, under a commission from Gov- 
ernor Endicott, ascended the Merrimac lUver in a boat to 
Lake Winnepisseogee. Whether they met Passaconaway 
or not, we do not know ; but Whittier. in his legendary 
"Leaves from Margaret Smith's Journar' (]j|). 173-174), 
gives us the following report as coining from Captain 
Willard :— 

"The companie. consisting of the two Commissioners, 
and two Surveyors,* and some Indians as guides and hunters, 
started from Concord about the middle of July, and followed 
the river on which Concord lies, until they came to the 
great Falls of the Merrimac. at Pawtucket, where they 
were kindly entertained at the Wigwam of a Chief Indian 
who dwelt there. They then went on to the Falls of the 
Amooskeag, a famous place of resort for the Indians, and 
encamped at the foot of a Mountain, under the shade of 
some great trees, where they spent the next day, it being 
the Sabbath. Mr. Johnson read a portion of the Word, and 
a Psalm was sung, the Indians sitting on the ground a little 
wav off, in a Aery reverential manner. They then went 
to Annahookline. where were some Indian cornfields, and 
thence, over a wild hilly countrie. to the head of the Mer- 
rimac, at a place called by the Indians Aquedahcan, 
where they took an obserAation of the latitude, and set 
their names upon a great rock, with that of the Worshipful 
Governor John Endicott. Here w^as the great Lake 

* One of these was John Sherman, an ancestor of the late John Sherman and of General 
William T. Sherman. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 385 

Winnepisseogee, as large o^'el■ as an English connty. with 
manic islands npon it. verie green with trees and ^ines. 
and abonnding with SqniiTcls and Birds." 

They must have known of the great northern trail by 
which the Indians traveled from the \'alley of the Merri- 
mac to the Valley of the St. Lawrence, and by which 
many a Avhitc captive traveled with weary feet and aching- 
heart in the later wars with the Indians ; but they pre- 
ferred to follow the line of the Merrimac River. They 
were probably the first Europeans who ever penetrated 
those boundless parks of spreading oak. birch, walnut and 
maple, or those sweet-scented gro^'es of pine, spruce 
and fir, which then abounded on the Merrimac. 

There is a prevalent supposition that in those days 
New England was well-nigh covered with an impenetrable 
forest. Such, ho\ve^"er. was not the fact. ^Ir. AYarren 
H. Manning, Secretary of the National Forestry Associa- 
tion, most iustlv observes that when the first settlers came 
hither •' there were extensive open areas, beaver meadows, 
river meadows, extensive Indian cornfields and open 
woodlands, which Avere burned over yearly by the Indians 
to encourao-e the <'-rowth of o'rass as well as to make liunt- 
ins: easier. These fires, under favorable conditions, 
destroyed the undergrowth, scarred many trees and even 
destroyed the trees themselves. Certain sections, burned 
bare of trees by such fires, grew up again to dense growth 
after the settlement of the towns." 

Six plaster casts of this Endicott Rock in Lake AVin- 
nepisseogee were taken by the late James B. Francis, one 
of which may now be seen in Memorial Hall. Lowell. It 
formerly belonged to the [Middlesex Mechanics Association.* 

* See Dr. Samuel A. Green's paper in volume -t of the Contributions of the Old 
Residents' Historical Assoeiatioii. pages 3L'l-3:i->. 



386 OLD residents' historical association. 



In 1653, the towns of Billerica (including Tewks- 
bnry) and Chelmsford (including Dracut) were settled by 
the English. Through Eliot's instrumentality, the Wame- 
sit reservation Avas established for Eliot's Indian converts. 
Four similar reservations had previously been created, at 
Natick, Stoughton, Grafton and Marlborough, and two 
others were afterwards added, at Concord and Ashland. 
Thus were seven Christian Indian villages founded, each 
of tliem liaA'ing a lo^ edifice which was used for religious 
purposes on Sundays, and for school purposes on other 
days. 

The log edifice erected at Wamesit stood about where 
the Eliot Church now stands. It remained through all 
changes until 1823 or 1824. The picture of it Avhich is 
shown herewith Avas })repared from tlip recollections of 
the late Sidney Davis, who often saw it when a boy. 

In 1656. Daniel Gookin. one of the Assistants, was 
appointed Superintendent of all the Indians who had sub- 
mitted to the colonial authorities. 

In 1659, Passaconaway's oldest son, Nanomocomuck, 
was imprisoned for a debt of about forty-five pounds sterling, 
due to one John Tinker from an Indian for whom he had 
become surety ; and he had nothing with wliicli to pay 
this debt. Wannalancet and otliers. by leave of the 
colonial authorities, generously sold ^^'ickasauke Island, 
now Tyng's Island, in the Merrimac Kiver, near Tyngs- 
boro'. containing about sixty acres, to John Evered, alias 
AV'ebb, and therebv raised the necessarv monev to imv his 
brother's debt.* 



* Mass. Col. Records. Vol. IV. Part I. pa<;e 401 Suffolk Deeds. Liber IIL page 307. 
Wannalaneei's name there appears as Wananonkasuek. and his father's as Passsi 
Couaway. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHE.MS. ijST 

Waiinalancet afterwards obtained from the legisla- 
ture a grant of one hundred acres of other land. " because 
he had a great many cliildren. and no planting grounds." 
But in 1665, he relinquished this grant in consideration 
that AVickasanke Island was bought Ijack from Evered for 
his use ; and thus Wannalancet was enabled to resume 
his occupancy of Wickasauke Island. Still, the white 
man. as usual, got the best of the baro-ain ; for. in 
exchange for the sixty acres of Wickasauke Island. E\ ered 
received five hundred acres adjoining other land of his 
own. 

Certain early writers tell us that in 1660 Passa- 
conaway made to a Aast assembly a farewell address, 
which they pretend to rejjort at some length. But the 
story is largely if not wholly a])ocryi)hal. If Passacona- 
way uttered any last words at all. they were uttered later 
than 1660. for on May 1), 16(vi. he sent a petition to the 
legislature to give him back a })art of the land in wliat is 
now Litchfield. Xew Hampshire, ^^llich he and his })eople 
had formerly occupied. The legislature granted this 
modest petition, which indeed coidd hardly be refused. 
Twenty years had not yet passed since the old chief sub- 
mitted himself to the colonial authorities, and now he 
was a l)eggar, supplicating for a small stri|) of land in 
what had formerly been his own domain ; that domain of 
which Whittier sang : — 

"Here the mighty Basliaba 
Held his l()ii,i4-uii(jUestioned sway, 
From the Wliite Hills, fai' away. 
To the gi'eat sea's sounding shore." 

No record of the time or place of Passaconaway's 
death has been found, and as in the case of Moses, '• no 
man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." 



388 OLD residents" historical association. 

Wannalancet succeeded him in the sachemship, his 
older brother having- died before his father. The same 
amicable relations between the English and the Indians, 
which had existed during Passaconaway's reign, were 
continued during the reign of his son. 

Like his father before him, Wannalancet had a 
rendezvous on Sewall's Island at Concord, N. H., and a 
fort at Sugar Ball Hill near by; another rendezvous at 
Amoskeag Falls, Manchester, N. H. ; another on an island 
at Litchfield. N. H. ; another at Nashua ; another on 
Tvng's Island ; another at Pawtucket Falls, where Lowell 
now is ; and another at Pentucket, where Haverhill now 
is. The Merrimac Valley had powerful attractions for 
the Indians — game in the forests, tisli at the falls, and 
corn in the intervales. 

From 1()63 to 1671, a savage war raged between the 
Indians of the Valley of the Merrimac and the ^lohawks 
of Northern New York, which proved very destructive to 
both parties, particularly to the Merrimac liiver Indians. 

In 1669, fearing further . aggressions from the 
^lohawks, Wannalancet came to where Lowell now 
stands, and built a fort on the hill which is now Ilogers 
Park, and surrounded it with palisades. He remained in 
that fort until the danger had passed. Traces of that 
fort were visible until within sixty years. 

From the close of the war with the Mohawks until 
1674 the life of W^annalancet was without recorded 
incidents. 

At stated times, Gookin held his court at Pawtucket 
or Wamesit, and Wannalancet sat upon the bench with 
him and assisted in the administration of criminal justice, 
in a log structure where is now the Boott canal. Eliot 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 



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390 OLD residents' historical association. 



sometimes accompanied Gookin and preached ; and when 
Ehot was absent. Nnmphow. one of his converts, preached. 

The contrast between the wooden benches withont 
backs, on xAliich the Christian Indians sat in their ]og 
meeting-house, and the cushioned pews now occupied by 
the attendants at the Ehot Church, was very great ; but 
the first meeting-liouses of the English settlers were no 
better than those of the Christian Indians. The preach- 
ers, however, both English and Indian, often preached 
against the growing prevalence of luxury, just as did the 
Presbyterian preachers of Scotland Avhen Boswell visited 
that country. Boswell. however, thought there was no 
occasion for such preaching iu the church which he 
visited, for he says there were not three pairs of shoes in 
the ^^hole congregation. 

Oil the fifth of May. 1674. Eliot and Gookin made 
one of ilieir customary visits to Pawtucket, and were the 
guests of Wannalancet at his wigwam, near where the 
A}er I !ome for Young Women and Children is situated. 
In the evening. Eliot preached to as many Indians as could 
be gathered to hear him. on the parable of the marriage 
of the King's son (Matthew 22. verses 1-1 1). Wannalan- 
cet gave close attention to the sermon, and in answer to a 
re([uest from Eliot, on the following day, as reported by 
Gookin. lie said: — 

"Sirs, you have been pleased, for years past, in your 
abundant love, to apply yourselves particularly to me and 
my jK'ople, and to exhort, press, and persuade us to pray 
to (jod. I am \er\ thankful to you for your pains. I 
must acknowledge. I have been used to pass all my days 
in an old canoe, and now you exhort me to change and 
leave niv old canoe, and embark in a new one, to which I 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 



391 







I— I 



39'2 OLD residents' historical association. 

have hitherto been uiiwining ; but now I yield myself to 
your advice, and do engage to pray to God hereafter." 

Such is the simple story of Wauualancet's conversion. 
Vse are assured by General Gookin that he afterwards 
lived up to his professions. 

In 1()75 came King Philip's War. and if Philip did 
not visit Wannalancet in person and endeavor to effect an 
alliance with him, it is certain that he sent emissaries to 
him again and again for that purpose. There is nothing 
improbable in the conjecture that Philip, who had horses 
of great speed and endurance, rode from Pocanoket to 
Wamesit and had an interview with Wannalancet, either 
at Pawtucket Falls or on Fort Hill.* and exerted all his 
powers of persuasion to win him to his side. That meet- 
ing, whether real or legendary, would form a fine subject 
for a painter. 

W^annalancet and some of his people, perplexed in 
the extreme, took to the woods; but this only intensiiied 
the fears of the colonists ; and messengers were sent to 
persuade them to return. Failing to reach Wannalancet 
in person, the messengers forwarded to him their written 
messaofe bv some of his tribe, and returned to Boston. 
Hence, perhaps, it may be inferred that Wannalancet had 
learned to read and write. 

Captain Moseley and a hundred armed men were 
then sent to find Wannalancet. They marched to Con- 
cord. X. H.. but found the fort deserted. They then 
barbarously burned all the wigwams, and destroyed all the 
dried fish which the Indians had cured for their winter's 
food. 



* There is no evidence that Philip ever stood on the rock on Fort Hill which some have 
called King Philip's Rock, though he and Wannalancet may have smoked their pipes 
there. That rock has been suggested as a base lor a statue of General Butler. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 393 



Wannalaiicct and his men must have had the patience 
of Joh. or they would have levelled their guns upon 
Captain Moseley and his men, and shot at least some of 
them. Gookin says that some of the young Indians were 
inclined to do so, but Wannalancet restrained them from 
tiring a gun, and kept them concealed in the woods. To 
aAoid further molestation, Wannalancet and his men ^^-ith- 
dreAV still farther into the wilderness, and passed the 
winter of 1675-76 about the headwaters of the Con- 
necticut, where moose, deer, bear, and other wild animals 
abounded. It required no small effort to keep out of the 
conflict. Gookin says. " Wannalancet had messengers sent 
to him more than once from the enemy, urging him to 
ioin with them ; but he alwavs refnsed." Time would 
fail to relate what persecutions were endured, and what 
barbaiities were perpetrated upon those helpless Indians. 
On all such, today, let the curtain fall. 

In July. 1676. Wannalancet and his people returned 
to Wickasauke Island, where they were placed under the 
guardianship of their friend Jonathan Tyng of Tyngsboro". 
He called on the Rev. John Fiske of Chelmsford, and 
enquired whether that town had suffered much during the 
war. Mr. Fiske replied that they had been highly 
favored, and had not suffered much, for which he thanked 
God. '• Me next," exclaimed Wannalancet, intimating 
that, next to God, they should thank him for the peace 
they had enjoyed. 

Nor did his friendly offices cease with the close of 
King Philip's War. In the following March, only six 
months after the treacherous massacre of thirty Indians in 
his presence at Dover. N. H., Wannalancet called on 
Captain Henchman at Chelmsford to inform him of the 
approach of a party to Litchfield, a few miles up the river. 



39-1 OLD residents' historical association. 



The condition of Waniialancet and his people was 
now most pitiable, Eliot says the colonists had " plonghed 
and sown all their lands, and they had bnt little corn to 
subsist by." A party of French Indians (of whom some 
were of the kindred of this sachem's wife) fell upon 
this people, being but few and unarmed, and partly by 
persuasion, and partly by force, carried them away to 
Canada, September 19, 1677. Religion may have played 
a part here. The Jesuits had begun missionary work in 
Canada forty years before Eliot began his work in Mas- 
sachusetts, and had persisted in it without interruption 
ever since. Wannalancet\s wife's brother had become a 
convert to Roman Catholicism, and his oldest son had 
followed his example. " The only wonder is," as Judge 
Potter observes, •• that Waunalancet had not retired long 
before and made common cause with the enemy." 

How long Waunalancet remained in Canada we do 
not know ; but we do know that soon after his departure 
and the return of peace such of Eliot's converts as had not 
been dispatched to the "happy hunting grounds" beyond 
the clouds were gathered in four towns : Natick, Stough- 
ton. Grafton, andWamesit; and probably Wannalancet's 
sojourn in Canada was not a long one. The St. Francis 
Indians were generally more impressed by the ceremonies 
of the Roman Catholic Church than by the simple services 
of the Puritans. During this first sojourn in Canada, 
Wannalancet's wife, of ^\'honi little is recorded, drops 
entirely, as Carlyle would say, •' from the tissue of our 

history. ' 

It is the opinion of many who have de^■oted them- 
selves most closely to the study of the Indians, that the 
relative position of their women was higher before the 
white settlements than it afterwards became. The baser 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 395 



traits of the white people were more readily adopted than 
their better traits. Wannalaiicet's wife was probably not 
much different from other Indian women. We do not 
even know her name. There is but a single anecdote to 
be told relating- to her. and even that is none too well 
authenticated. It runs as follows : In a mixed company 
of English and Indians the prevalence of a diversity of 
opinions was spoken of as something to be regretted. 
AVannalancet dissented, saying that for himself he was glad 
all men did not think alike; for, he said, "If all men 
thouo-ht alike thev would all want mv squaw." She is 
understood to have been one of those who. when they 
attended the Puritan form of worship, thought it good, but 
afterwards, when they attended the Roman Catholic form 
of worship, liked that better. 

On the eighth of September, 1685. the authorities 
of Massachusetts, which then included New Hampshire, 
made at Concord. X. H.. a treaty with the Indians, 
in which, among other things, they agreed to reward 
^^^annalancet and others for past services ; and on the 
seventeenth the sum of ten pounds, in money and cloth- 
ing, was distributed among them. 

In 16^6, ^Vanualancet and the Indians at Pawtuckct, 
Wamesit, Nashua, Merrimack and Litchtield sold their 
lands in those places to Jonathan Tyng and others, reserv- 
ing onlv their rights of hunting and fishing. 

Soon after this sale, it is understood that Wannalanceti 
and those participating with him in that transaction, joined 
the St. Francis Indians in Canada. Six years elapsed 
before we hear of him again. He had befriended the 
colonists during King Philip's War; he had befriended 
them during the war which followed the death of Philip ; 
and thou"-h his services had been well recognized by such 



396 OLD residents' historical association. 



men as Eliot and Gookin. they had been tardily and poorly 
appreciated by the authorities; and many of the colonists 
made no distinction between them and the hostile savages, 
and held, like General Sheridan in later times, that •' the 
only ii^ood Indian is the dead Indian."' 

Thucydides somewhere speaks of" the " blessed art of 
forgetting." The gentle Wannalancet certainly practiced 
that "blessed art'' to perfection. 

Ijut there are limits to human endurance. Altliouo-h 
Wannalancet had forgiyen and forgotten, or tried to forget, 
the barbarities inflicted upon himself and his people, there 
wei'e kinsmen and tribesmen of his who could neither 
forgive nor forget those barbarities ; and they would have 
been less (or more) than human if those barbarities had 
provoked no reprisals in the conflict known as King 
William's War — the war between the adherents and allies 
of the Stuarts and the supporters of William of Orange. 

Kemembering the licl[) ^\'hich they had received 
from Wannalancet during King Philip's A^'ar and the 
wars which followed the death of Philip, the colonists, 
particularly those in the frontier towns, yearned for the 
presence and help of Wannalancet once more. So, in 
1692, messengers were sent to Canada to persuade 
Wannalancet to come back to Massachusetts to '-the 
help of the Lord and His saints." He came, and as 
long as that war lasted he was diligent in season and 
out of season in the service of the colonial sires and 
colonial dames of his time. His presence gave them a 
sense of safety and security which they had not enjoyed 
during his absence in Canada. 

But where now were the friends of his earlier 
years? The saintly Eliot had gone to his grave in 
the old Roxburv Cemetery two years before. General 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 397 



Gookin had gone to his g-rave in Cambridge in 1()S7. 
The llev. John Fiske had gone to his grave in Chehns- 
ford in 1677. The "praying towns" now hved only in 
.memory. 

Tlie log meeting-honse and school-honse at AVamesit 
remained standing (as we said) until 1S28 or ''-i-t. 
The log court-house disappeared long before, we know 
not when or how. It may have been torn down or 
burned; it niav. like the '•rude bridge'" at Concord, of 
which Emerson sano". \vd\Q iione 

"Down the (lark stream whieh seaward creeps.'' 

That Eliot's Indian reservation might have flourished 
and continued for generations is eA'ident from the fact 
that other Indian reservations have continued to this 
day — six in ^^'estern New York, five in the Indian 
Territory, others in Canada, one on the Pamunkey River 
in Virginia, and others elsewhere. The best elements 
among the colonists, the most benevolent colonial sires 
and dames, deeph- regretted the maltreatment which the 
Indians received from the baser whites, and which 
ended in their extinction or exile. 

In the writings of the ■\arious authors who have 
referred to AA'annalancet heretofore, little or nothing has 
been said of the last four vears of his life. Judge Potter, 
perhaps more than any other writer, made A\^innalancet 
the subject of careful study. But there were several 
interesting facts in the life of the chief which eluded the 
researches of the learned historian of Manchester. So far 
as Judge Potter could ascertain, the record of the last of the 
sachems of the Merrimac Iii^'er Indians closes with his 
first retreat to Canada. But in one of the many historical 
notes with which the learned editor of the Province Laws, 



398 OLD residejSTs' historical association. 



Hon. Abiicr C. (joodcl], has enriched the seventh volnme 
of those Laws, we find a docnment which for nearly two 
hundred years had been buried in the Archives of ^lassa- 
chusetts, and which shows us Wannahmcet a soUtary and 
patlietic figure, subsisting on the charity of the Province 
in a bind which was once his own. It is tlie petition of 
Colonel Jonathan Tyng. one of the first settlers of Tyngs- 
boro', then a part of Dunstable, stating that Governor Sir 
AVilliam Phipps, in compliance with Wannalancet's request, 
had sent him to Tyng's house and had requested Tyng to 
su[)[)ly him with provisions, and promised that they should 
be paid for by the Province. Tyng further states that for 
almost four years he had supplied Wannalancet with food 
and a good part of his clothing, and that upon his death, 
in l()f)(). lie liad buried the remains of the old chief. '• He 
having showcnl himself friendly to the English in the 
former war. and now [in King William's War], authority 
would not suffer him now in his old age to be ill-treated." 
Tyng was allowed £20.* 

Four vears had j)assed since Wannalancet's final 
return from Canada, where the other survivors of his tribe 
found a home, and where their descendants still live. It 
became the practice of the colonial churches to admit 
Indian converts to membei'ship where there was no Indian 
church to receive them ; and if the records of the church 
at Dunstable, which then included Tyngsboro', could be 
recovered, they would probably sliow that Wannalancet 
Avas a member of that church, and a regular attendant at 
its services. 

As A\'annalancet trod the banks of tlie Merrimac 
during those four lonely years, he must often have been 



♦Province Laws. vol. T. pp. I.r2 and 559. Massachusetts Archives, vol. 3i^. p. IX. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 399 



visited by thoughts Uke those which the (Teorgia poet puts 
into the mouth of the Seaiinole chief. Osceohi, when 
pining away a prisoner in Fort Moukrie : — 

"My hfe is Uke the prints which feet 
Have left on Tampa's desert strand : 
Soon as the rising tide shall l)eat, 

All trace shall vanish from the land. 
Yet, as if grieving- to efface 
All vestige of the hnman race, 
On that lone shore loud moans the si^a ; 
But none, alas I to mourn for me." 

AA'hen the end came, Wannalancet was doubtless 
buried in the private cemetery of the Tyngs, it being the 
custom for those having such cemeteries to bury their 
guests, and tlieir servants, whether bond or free, whether 
white, bhrck or red, as well as their own kith and kin. in 
tlieir private burying grounds. 

About six months after Wannalancet"s death, Hannah 
Dustin halted at Tyno-'s house over night, on her way back 
to Haverhill, from which she had been captured a. few 
days before. 

About fifty years after the passing of Wannalancet, 
the Rev. George Whitefield visited what is now Tyngs- 
boro\ and preached, on the hillside in front of the Tyng 
house, where he was entertained, to a large concourse of 
people from all the region round about. 

The Tyng house was then occupied by Eleazer Tyng, 
Jonathan's son, whose grave is to be seen in the old Tyng 
cemetery. 

The Colonial Dames of Georgia ha^e honored the 
memory of Ticolomichi, the Indian chief with whom 



400 OLD residents" historical association. 



Wliitefield established friendly relations in South Carolina 
and Georgia, by placing a boulder, suitably inscribed, over 
the spot in Court Square, Savannah, where he was 
buried, Governor Oglethorpe following his remains as chief 
mourner. Will not the Colonial Dames of Massachusetts 
honor the memory of Wannalancet in a similar way ? 

Mr. Henry James and other's have lamented the lack 
of historic inspiration for prose or verse in this country. 
Lord Byron, on the other hand, turning in disgust from 
the shams and hypocrisies of the old world, contemplated 
the uncorrupted heroes of the new world, white, black, and 
copper colored, with buoyant hope ; and Uufus Choate, 
seventy years ago. extolled the colonial age as the heroic 
age of America. The epoch of King Philip's war, Wan- 
nalancet's own epoch, had special charms for that matchless 
orator. More than once, with an eloquence which no 
lining man approached, did Mr. Choate express the ardent 
wish that some such genius as Sir Walter Scott would 
" undertake in earnest to illustrate that early history by a 
series of romantic compositions in prose or verse, like 
' Waverley ' and ' The Lady of the Lake.' " Certainly every 
lover of New England, every lover of literature, would 
concur with Mr. Choate in the desire to see our natural 
scenery invested with the same interest and enriched Avitli 
the same glamour which Scott has given to the Highlands 



of Bonnie Scotland. In our mountains and lakes there are 
many scenes which rival, nay, surpass the hills and lakes 
of Caledonia : — 

" Land of brown heath and shag-g'v wood, 
Land of the mountain and the tiood." 

Some such purpose seems to have moved John G. 
Whittier to write his "Leaves from Margaret Smith's 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 401 



Journal,"' a novel full of the facts and the characters of the 
colonial era, hut almost devoid of that Promethean heat 
which alone can illumine those facts and make those 
characters live again. Its characters, like most of those in 
Cooper's novels, are white men with Indian names. The 
genius which Choate's prophetic eye foresaw will yet 
appear. In the verse of Philip Freneau and in the prose 
of Francis Parkman we find abundant indications that the 
Walter Scott of New England is surely coming, and none 
will o-reet him more warmlv than the Colonial Dames. 



WANNALA>X'ET MEMORIAL TABLET. 

Shortly after the reading of the foregoing paper 
before them, the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Dames 
patriotically resolved to place a bronze tablet upon one of 
the boulders lying near the colonial mansion-house of 
Colonel Jonathan Tyng, to perpetuate the memory of the 
gentle, peace-lo^■ing sachem who was Tyng's guest daring 
the last four years of his life, and who may have spent 
those vears in the same house which now stands on the 
adjacent hill. Certainly, this house sufficiently marks the 
place of Wannalancet's last abode, and is very near to the 
towai cemetery, originally the private cemetery of tlie 
Tyngs, and where, no doubt, the remains of Wannalancet 
were buried. 

Colonel Tyng continued to reside here till 1718, when 
he removed to Woburn, where he died in 17'24. His son 
Eleazer succeeded him, and, in 17!s2. was himself suc- 
ceeded by his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Winslow, who was 
instrumental in causing Tyngsboro' to be so named in 



4()"i OLD residents' historical association. 



honor of her grandfather, Jonathan Tyng. By her last 
^^ ill. probated November 1 , 1791, Mrs. Winslow bequeathed 
to her cousin, Dudley Atkins Tyng, of Newbury, this 
mansion-house in Tyngsboro', and the great farm adjoining 
the same, with all the buildings thereon, together with her 
interest in Tyng's Island. 

In the summer of 1902, a committee of the "Dames" 
visited this house and cemetery, and selected the largest 
boulder near to both of them as the site of the proposed 
tablet. 

Tradition said that the lie v. George Whitefield had 
preached one or twice in Tyngsboro' before it Avas set 
off from Dunstable, and had been entertained at the Tyng 
house, then the best in the town; and the Honorable 
Samuel A. Green, of Boston, found among his papers a 
copy of the Boston Gazette which fully coniirmed that 
tradition. Whitefield preached in the open air with a 
boulder for his pulpit, but his a isit was some fifty years 
after Wannalancet's death ; and the " Dames " thought it 
best not to mar the unity of their work by coupling that 
incident with the memory of Wannalancet. 

Delavs ensued in obtainino" for the town convevances 
from the proprietors of the land on which the boulder 
stands. The tablet was then prepared, and securely 
riveted to the boulder, and dedicated November 21, 1901. 

Mrs. George S. Hale, president of the Society, was 
prevented by sickness from attending the dedication and 
making the dedicatory address. Mrs. Clarke, the vice- 
president, had recently died ; and Miss Rose E. Lamb, the 
Societv's secretary, had charge of the dedication. Among 
the '"Dames"' present were Mrs. Henry 11. Dalton, Mrs. 
AMlliam Tudor. Mrs. Frank O. Parker. Mrs. Barrett Wen- 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 



40::5 



dell. Miss Adeline Bigelow, Mrs. Sarah li. Crocker, Mrs. 
Joseph G. Eaton, Mrs. Harold C. Ernst. Mrs. Charles 
Smith, all of Boston ; ^Irs. Cunimings. of Portland ; Miss 
Cashing, of Newbnryport ; and Mrs. Tuckerman, of New 
York. 

The Milage Improvement Society assisted at the dedi- 
cation, its vice-president. IIca'. WiUiam Brown, presiding. 

The Eev. E. Victor Bigelow, pastor of the Eliot 
Chnrch of Eowell. which marks the spot Avhere the Indian 
lo<>' meetin2:-honse once stood, and others of that church ; 
the Rev. Sarah A. Dixon, pastor of the Congregational 
Church in Tyngsboro". and others of that church, were 
present. Meml)ers of the Old Residents' Historical Asso- 
ciation, now the Eowell Historical Society, and members 
of Passaconaway Tribe of the Improved Order of Red 
Men, were also present. Notwithstanding the ])revalent 
sickness, the attendance Avas large, and included Misses 
Melinda and Charlotte Mitchell, of Eakeville, the only 
living: descendants of ^Nlassasoit. the sachem of the Pocano- 
ket Indians, and friend of the Pdgrims of Plymouth. Tlie 
younger of these sisters wore the costume of an Indian 
princess. 

Last but by no means least, Chief Joseph Laurent, 
the present chief of the St. Francis Indians, came from his 
distant home at Pierreville, in the Province of Quebec, to 
assist in doing this honor to the memory of the former 
chief of the ancestors of many of those who own his gentle 
sway. 

After visiting the boulder bearing the tablet and the 
cemetery where the dust of Wannalancet mingles with the 
dust of the Tyngs, the assembled people re]mired to the 
TvnjT mansion on the adjacent hill. 



404 OLD residents' historical association. 



The Rev. AVilliain Brown, pastor of the Unitarian 
Church in Tyngsboro', called the meeting to order, and 
introduced Judge Charles Cowley, of Lowell, who made 
the dedicatory address, as follows: — 

The purpose of the memorial tablet, wdiich the Massa- 
chusetts Society of Colonial Dames has now placed upon 
this boulder, is to recall the memory, and perpetuate the 
record, of certain interesting events in colonial history 
wdiich were associated with this place, and which have 
made it, in a real sense, a historical shrine. 

The fact that, in 1686, Wannalancet and other 
Indians in the valley of the Merrimac transferred their 
lands to Jonathan Tyng and other English settlers, and 
soon afterwards joined the St. Francis tribe in Canada, has 
been pretty well known ever since it took place ; but the 
facts that, six years later, in 16i)'i. Wannalancet was 
requested by the Provincial authorities to return to Massa- 
chusetts, and did return, and resided here with Colonel 
Tyng until his death in 169(5, and Avas buried by Tyng here 
by the river which he loved so well — these facts, strange to 
say, were lost sight of by historians for several generations, 
but were again brought to light by the Honorable xA.bner 
C. Goodell, of Salem, a few years ago, while editing the 
Province Laws. 

In selecting a recipient for their bronze, the Colonial 
Dames have show-n much discrimination and a wise 
preference for a remote antiquity. They cast about for the 
oldest " settlers," and in the boulders on this hill they 
found '• squatter sovereigns " far older than any white 
settlers — far older than the red men whom the whites 
displaced ; pilgrims from afar, borne hither by the glaciers 
thousands of years before the Mayflower ploughed the 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 



405 



waters of Massachusetts l>ay. What better scttmg- could 
be given to any historic tablet than the brow of this 
ancient imniigraut. which carries the mind back to remote 
geological periods, when the waters of the ^lerrimac first 
began to wear a channel to the sea I 

'•Beautiful for situation," as was Zions Hill, is this 
earlv home of Colonel Tyng. Still more beautiful was the 
friendshi]) which Avas formed between Tyng and Wanna- 
lancet, which endured as long as they liAcd. The Mingo 
chief, Logan, bereft of wife and children, in contemplation 
of death, pathetically asked, '• Who is there to mourn for 
Logan r" But no such question was asked by Wanna- 
lancet. Joe English was living to mouru for hiui, and 
doubtless there were others of his own color to mourn for 
him. Tvuii' buried him. Tyng mourned for him. 
Other white men and white women mourned for him. 
as well they might ; for as long as AVannalancet lived 
here with them, on what Avere theu the frontiers of civili- 
zation, his presence gave them a sense of security from 
hostile Lidians which they never had during the wars 
which followed his death. 

Daniel Webster loved to describe to his friends the 
place of his birth on the frontiers of civilization, and loved 
to tell them that the smoke of his father's chimney 
ascended nearer to the North Star than that which arose 
from any other chimney south of Canada. So it was with 
the smoke from Tvng's chimnev. the smoke of the fire by 
w hich Tyng and his wife sat with Wannalancet during the 
long evenings of four lonely winters, regaling each other 
with incidents of the past. Of course, they loved the 
river : from it they gathered abundance of fish ; and, no 
doubt, they loved the solitude of the wilderness which this 



406 OLD residents' historical ASSOCTATIO^'. 



place then was, full of game, full of mystery, and full of 
peace, bringing to their minds those thoughts of which 
Milton had sung : — 

"Those thoughts that wander through Eternity." 

For what they Inne done to renew these memories 
and make a permanent memorial of them here, the 
patriotic ladies, the Colonial Dames, deserve the gratitude 
of the people of the Merrimac valley. 



Solon W. Stevens, Esq., was introduced as president 
of what is now the Lowell Historical Society, and spoke 
as follows : — 

]Mr. (yhairman : It is not by way of repeating a 
hackneyed excuse, but in the utterance of a positive truth 
when I say I am completely taken by surprise when asked 
to say anything at this interesting hour. This certainly is 
a historic spot and the scene of many interesting events 
which form a prelude to the beginning of the growth of 
the thrifty and prosperous city of Lowell and its adjacent 
tOAvns. Some of us are so familiar wdth it in its present 
appearance that we do not realize how many historical 
associations cluster around it. 

The naire of the man Wannalancet. to wdiose 
memory this tablet has been placed on yonder boulder by 
these enteri)rising ladies, carries us l)ack in imagination 
throufyh more than two centuries of time, when this 
localitv was the frontier of civilization in tliis region. It 
takes us l)ack to the time when tln^ son of Passaconaway. 
of whom it was said •• he could make tlie trees dance and 
water burn," was not only a friend to the wdiite people 
but their (l(>fender au-ainst the sava^-e Mohawks and otlier 



THE LAST OF THE SICHEMS. 407 



tribes. And this, too, because the man whose memory we 
commemorate today had been brought under the influence 
of Christianity by John EHot. \yho trained the Indian to 
be a law-abiding citizen 

This spot is also historic because it is said a with great 
probability of truth that the zealous preacher Whitetield 
proclaimed the gospel to the people living in this section 
in later years. And perhaps this very boulder which has 
been marked today was the pulpit from which his utter- 
ance was ijiven. 

It is both interesting and profitable amid such sur- 
roundings as these to bring to mind such trains of thought 
as those suggested by Mr. Cowley's address, for in this way 
we can get a little glimpse of the great process of eyolution 
which is i^oino- on not only in ehan^^ino- the face of nature 
but in lilting the human race from a lower to a higher 
plane. 

]Much credit is due these representatives of the 
'•Colonial Dames" for interest in this event. For it is by 
the simple act of marking these historic spots that the 
people of future days may know that history is not a 
myth, and that facts cannot be erased by speculation or 
argument. 



Judij^e Samuel P. Hadlev was introduced. '• I have 
taken a good deal of interest in colonial affairs,"' he said- 
"and I am glad to be here on this occasion. In my days 
of youth the boys and girls took more interest in historical 
matters than they do at the present, time. They knew 
about our Indian history. It was perhaps from this very 
boulder that ^^'hitefield preached. In my boyhood we 
covdd find Indian arrow heads and arrows in some places, 



•i08 OLD RESIDEM'S' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 

and it was not at all nncommon to take home with me 
some Indian relics after a visit to Tyng"s Island. There 
were in those days an Indian fort and an Indian hnrvini? 
g-jonnd near Lowell, and I regret that there are no traces 
of them today." 

Joseph II. Gnillet, Esq.. of Lowell, president of the 
Franco-American Historical Society of the United States, 
then introdnced Chief .Foseph Lanrent. who was greeted 
with great applanse. for which he returned thanks. As 
the present chief of the St. Francis tribe, which embraces 
all living descendants, so far as known, of the tribe of 
which Wannalancet was chief, he said he felt that there 
was a peculiar fitness in his assisting in thus honoring 
Wannalancet's memory. By request he told the story of 
a silver medal, three inches in diameter, which he wore 
round his neck, and which Avas giA tm to his grandfather by 
King George III of England. He tokl the story in English, 
and the ladies askinir for a little talk in the lan2:uao:e of 
his people, he gave the same thing in the Indian tongue. 
He then gave it in French. No one present understood 
the Indian speech. l)ut all pronounced it very musical. 
The " Dames. " most of whom understand French, pro- 
nounced the chiefs French perfect. In reply to questions, 
he said he was born on the St. Francis Reservation about 
sixty-two years ago. and became chief on the death of his 
ffither in 1879, and has held that office ever since.- He 
has been twice married, and has had ten children. 

The chief said he did not speak English ^ery well. 
In his vounyer davs when he mii'ht have mastered the 
tongue, he said, he was busy earniiii? a livinsr for his 
family; then he had hunted for twenty years, an occupa- 
tion that was not conducive to the study of language. 



'J'Hi: LAST OF I'lIE SACHEMS. 



409 



Tlie Ivev. E. Motor Biiiolow exprrsscd his pleasure 
at being present, and his keen interest in local history; 
but curtailed his remarks on account of the shortness of the 
time. For the same I'eason others, who would have been 
heard, refrained from speaking'. 

J. Franklin Ihmcroft. l\s([ , of Tyngsboro\ in behalf 
of the town, returned thanks to Judge Cowley tor his 
valuable contribution to the history of the town and for 
originating the project of the tablet ; to the Colonial 
Dames for ado])ting that project and })lacing the tablet on 
that boulder; and to the ])roprietors of the land on which 
the boulder re>ts for giving that land to the town. Light 
refreshments were then ser\ ed by the ladies of the \'illage 
Improvement Association, the cups and saucers being of 
the approved colonial blue. The company then separated. 

The inscription on the tablet reads as Ibllows : — 



o- 



-o- 



-3 



In this place 

lived (hiring his last years 

and died in 1696 

WANNALANCET 
Last Sachem of Merrimac River Indians 
O Son of Passaconaway 

Like liis father a faithful 

friend of the early New 

England Colonists 

Placed by the Massachusetts Society 
of Colonial Uames 



O 



O- 



-O^ 



-O 



^[iss llarriette Uea. of liOwell. well known for her 
studies in o'cologv. savs : •• The boulder with the \\'anna- 
lancet tablet is one of a long series of granite boulders that 
seem to have come down in a line. 1 think I made it from 
northeast to southwest. There are other boulders scattered 
about promiscuously and they ;ire all granitic. Some have 
more quartz than others ; but there is one line running 
across that field behind the bain, where immense ones have 



410 OLD residents' historical association. 



been dropped. The ledge is probably (piite a way up iiortli. 
There are ledges iieai'er the Aillage. but I hardly think 
thev were originally the home of tliese travellers. Tlie 
hill is picturesque with the rocks and trees, and the soil 
seemed good ibr pasturage. Isn't tliat old house a 
treasure i Only it is dilapidated. It ought to be preserved. 
The tablet is in a charming spot. This granitic rock or 
gneiss means an earlv ibrmation. probablv Cambrian."" 



CHIEF JOSEPH LAURENT S RECEPTION. 

The Passaconaway 1'ribe of the Improved (^rder of 
Ivcd Men, of Lowell, took much interest in Waniia- 
lancct"s history ; sent a delegation to the meeting in the 
Unitarian Church at Tyngsboro". May o. 1901. the anni- 
versarv of \A annalancets conversion, ^^ hen Jud^-e Cowlev 
read his })aper on the old chief; and also sent a delegation 
to assist in the dedication of the tablet to his memory. In 
the evening following the dedication. Passaconaway Tribe 
gave a public reception to Chief Joseph Laurent in 
^Memorial Hall. Mr. Oliver A. Libby. Sachem of the 
Tribe, spoke as follows: — 

Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a great j)leasure to 
me, as Sachem of Passaconaway Tribe of the Improved 
Order of Ped Men, to \velcome at this time the chief of 
the descendants of the red men who once made their home 
on these hunting-grounds, l)ut who, having been dispos- 
sessed of their lands, and having become reduced in 
numbers, joined the Abenaki tribe of St. Francis, Canada, 
and became amalgamated with them. The ritual of our 
Order is based upon the ceremonies practiced by the 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 411 

aboriginal red men in their religious and other observances, 
and is intended to impre^'S its members with the loftv ideals 
and noble character ot" the primitive red men. 

The Improved Order of Red Men is the oldest fraternal 
organization in existence, of purely American origin. It 
is the Jineal descendant of the Sons of Liberty, who. for 
more than ten years prior to the Declaration of Inde})end- 
eiice, by their active work paved the way for that immortal 
act. In 11^1 to 1800 many of the societies of Sons of 
Liberty were merged into societies of St. Tamina. and in 
18 1-3 it took on another form in the Society of Red ^len. 
It ISoo it was reorganized as the Improved Order of Red 
Men. It is true that the societies existing prior to ISlo 
made no use of the name " Red Men " as a part of the title 
h\ which they were known. *• St. Tammany's Society" 
was the frequent appellation in the Middle and Southern 
States. The organization at Boston and elsewhere of 
1765 and hiter. known as the ••Sons of Liberty," preceded 
the Tannnany Societies, and was organized Avith the same 
spirit and to perform the same service. They frequently 
referred to each other as '-the Indians."" and the well 
known fact will be recalled that, on a certain important 
date, a party of men '-disguised as Indians"" rushed down 
to the wharf by the waterside and pitched into Boston 
harbor the tea which had been imported, but which the 
colonists refused to receive. The men who constituted the 
famous Boston Tea Party were members of the Sons of 
Liberty of Boston and vicinity. 

Instinctively they turned to the uncultivated field of 
Red Men's mysteries for their ceremonies and secret work, 
and in the sublimity and grandeur of" the unsullied charac- 
teristics of the aboriginal race, drew inspiration from their 
mystical lore. 



412 OLD RESIDEISTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



But YOU are here for the jjurpose of listcuiug; to a 
real Indian chief, rather than to me, the imitation, and 
to others who can better entertain and instruct you ; and it 
gives me great pleasure at this time to present to you. as 
the presiding officer of this meetiug. one who is always 
welcome to a Lowell audience. His Honor, MaYor C. A. 
R. Uimon. 



Mayor Dimon said he esteemed it a privilege and an 
honor to ])reside at this reception of the very worthv guest. 
While in the military service in North Dakota after the 
close of the Civil War, he had been brought into intimate 
and often very pleasant relations with the Indians. He 
knew something of the trials and hardships through which 
they passed, and felt a deep interest in their welfare. 
During his ^isit to Lowell, the Chief had been his guest 
at the Yorick Club, and he had learned to appreciate his 
sterling (pialitics. The iNIayor was suffering from the 
})ainful disease (cancer) of which he died in the following 
]May ; he s])oke with difffculty, and therefore brieffy ; and 
closed by introducing the Eev. John ^L Greene, D. D.. 
])astor emeritus of the Eliot Church, Avho spoke as 
follows : — 

It is a great privilege. I am sure we all feel, to ha^•e 
with us and to hear one who is a direct successor of that 
"'reat and liood man who was a ruler, a ^■eritable king. 
over the primitive inhabitants of this })lace. That '-there 
is no good Indian but a dead one" is proved to be false 
bv the life and character of \\'annalancet He Avas the 
white man s friend, made so in part at least by the instiuc- 
tion of his dying father ; and no force of temptation, either 



THE LASr OF THE SACHEMS. 413 

threats or promises, could tiini him from his purpose of 
frienclliuess. Not even the abuse and injustice of the 
whites turned him fjom liis amicable treatm(mt of those to 
whom he had pledged loyalty and friendshi}). 

To get a clear and full idea of ^^'annalancet's stead- 
fastness of purpose to be true to the English, we need to 
recall the facts of King Philip's War. In the years 1675 
and 1()7(). about six hundred whites had been killed by 
the Indians, and as many dwelling houses had been 
burned. One eleventh of the militia of the colonies had 
been sacrificed in this etfort to put down the uprising of 
the Indians who. under the leaderslii[) of King Philip, had 
determined to exterminate, root and branch, the white 
race. It ^^'as a life and death struggle. In every part of 
the colonies war and bloodshed and fire did the work of 
destruction. The massacre at Bh)ody Brook, the burning 
of Hatfield and Hadley and Sprnigfield, the disturbances 
in ^\'orcester county and in Plymouth, as well as through- 
out Connecticut and Illiode Island, showed that there was 
concerted action, a definite plan on tlie i)art of the Indians, 
to rid themselves of the whites, and recover and hold the 
land as their own. Put there were few and only slight 
attacks made u])on the peoi)le of this section. Why I 
They had a frieiid in Wannalancet who warned them of 
the approach of their enemy. A^'annalancet stood between 
the hostile Indians and the newly settled whites, and 
])rot(^cted the latter in their hours of danger. Like his 
fatber. the <:o()(l Passaconawav. he saw what the nnircli of 
Pro\idence meant, lie seemed to understand by passing 
events that it was the (Jreat Spirit's i)urpose that the 
white man should live and rule him ; and he was willing 
to hel}) bring this to pass. The Nvhites distrusted and 
even abused Wannalancet ; but he never faltered in 



•±14 OLD residents' historical association. 



his kindly purpose or betrayed his friends. Of the two 
actors in King PhiHp's War. the one who phiyed the 
nobler part here was the Indian chief of Wamesit. 

Glad am I that we have a monument erected to his 
memory. His tribe and his race have disappeared, and it 
is most seemly that the descendants of those whom he 
befriended should preserve his name and defend his 
character. AVc are told that " the righteous shall be in 
everlasting remembrance;"" and I believe the good, the 
faithful and conscientious Wannalancet A\as on earth, and 
is in heaven, among the righteous. 



lion. Samuel P. lladley, Standing Justice of the 
Lowell Police Court, spoke as follows : — 

I certainly feel like expressing my thanks to my 
friend, Judue C'owlev, who conceived and has carried out 
the details of this novel and interesting occasion, which 
has afforded us sucli real pleasure. I am quite sure the 
like has never before occurred in the history of the 
country. It has the merit of great originality, we must all 
aa-ree. The descendants of the ffrst English settlers in 
that part of the valley of the jNIerrimac known as Paw- 
tucket Falls and John Sagamore's Plantation, here, on this 
old Wamesit Peser\ation, and within a half-mile of the 
site of John Eliot's church, meet and welcome, and offer 
the hospitalities of the City of Lowell to the present chief 
of the tribe of St. Francis Indians, who received and cared 
for the chief of the tribe of Pawtuckets. Wannalancet, the 
former owner of this territory, after he left New England. 

We are here to acknowledge and atone for, at least 
so far as kind welcomes and cordial greetings may ser\"e, 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 41-> 



the wrongs done l)y our forefathers to the protege of the 
St. Francis tribe. It is rather late in the day, no (h)ubt, 
but better hite than never. 

I think the children of today, so far as I have 
observed, take very httle interest in the history of the race 
of men who inliabited this country before the arrival of 
the white man. compared with that felt by the children 
of sixty years ago. 

The reason for this is doubtless found in the fact that, 
sixty years ago, numberless traditions and stories relating 
to the Indians were matters of common knowledge, and 
were the common subjects of conversation at the fireside 
and in the school. The population, being comparatively 
sparse, was largely composed of the descendants of the 
early settlers, who shared in the perils and dangers of 
those early times. The child of today, even if his 
ancestors were among the early settlers, is probably more 
interested in events which occurred since the beginning of 
the last century, which is not a matter of surprise when 
the tremendous importance of those events is considered. 

It mav interest some of mv young friends here to 
know that the bov of sixtv vears ao-o knew men who were 
soldiers in the revolutionary war as the boy of today knows 
the soldiers of the civil war, and also knew aged persons 
who could tell of events connected with (^ueen Annes war^ 
in which the Indians played no inconsiderable part. 

When I was a lad, the Indian was an interesting and 
especially attractive object to the youthful American. 
We did not believe in the scalping knife and tomahawk, 
to be sure, but there was much in his free life, in his 
close intimacy with nature, in his primitive ways of living, 
and pursuit of game, in his natural eloquence of speech, 
his courage, his endurance, his ideas of natural justice, 



41 G OLD RESIDFA'TS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



which 8tronij;ly appealed to the youthful iiimd and won its 
admiration. The Indian of three score years ago Avas not 
the unfamiliar object lie is today. In those days. Indian 
families in considerable numbers, members of tlie Penob- 
scot tribe, were accustomed to come every year in the 
summer season to this A'icinity. and pitch their tents in 
the neighborhood of their old fishing place on the river at 
Pawtucket Falls. They used to camp uj)on Mus([uasli 
Island, near the present location of the Lawrence C\)r})ora- 
tion. among the pines near the Guard l^ocks, and on the 
land of the Canal Company, at Middlesex Village. 

With these opportunities at liand. you may be sure 
we boys became pretty well ac([uainted with the Indian 
and his ways. Many times, when a boy. I have sat in an 
Indian tent and Avatched the squaws weave their baskets, 
while they kept up an animated conversatitm in their 
musical, liquid tongue. A\'e used to play with the Indian 
boys, and try our skill in handling the bow and arrow, in 
which game the young Indian boys always beat us. 
Speaking of the bow and arrow reiuinds me of the fact 
that the boy of sixty years ago prided himself on possessing 
a good walnut or hemlock boA\' and a stock of smooth, 
well balanced arrows, and knew how to use them. How 
many boys of today kno\\- how to make and use a bow and 
arrow skilfully ! I cannot remembin- when I last saw this 
Indian weapon in th(^ hands of a boy. Has the bow and 
arrow disappeared with the Puritan Sabb;ith I Again, tlie 
literature of our reading books in school, sixtv years ago. 
had many selections relating to the Indian, which wei'e 
indelil)ly im])rcssed on the young mind, as eaily reading- 
lessons usually are. Pvery school boy of sixty y(>ars ago 
knew the speech of Red jacket and of Logan, the lament of 
the Oneida chief, and many other similar selections, as 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 411 



well as he knew the alphabet. I recall one of these selec- 
tions, often declaimed by the boys of my time, and I will 
try to repeat it, although 1 have not seen it since I 
declaimed it at the old Lawrence Academy, in Groton, 
about fifty-iive years a*>-o. It is a selection from Sprague's 
oration before the people of Boston, in 18'25. 1 do not 
know where to find it. At all events, I am going to recite 
it as I remember it. and I wish the boys of sixty years ago 
who are present would follow nie and prompt if I make a 
mistake. You will agree with nu- that this selection, while 
decidedlv Horid, and some\\hat strong in metaphor and 
antithesis, is truthful and pathetic, worthy of being recited 
on this occasion. With this 1 close these rambling obser- 
vations. 

" Not many generations ago, where you now sit. 
encircled with all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, 
the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox dug 
his hole unscared. Here lived and lo^ ed another race of 
beinas. Beneath the same sun that rolls over vour heads, 
the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer ; gazing on the 
same moon that smiles for you, the Indian lover wooed his 
dusky mate. Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender 
and the helpless, the council fire glared on the wise and the 
daring. Now they dipped their noble limbs in your sedgy 
lakes, and now they paddled the light canoe along your 
rocky shores. Here they warred; the echoing whooj). the 
bloodv grapple, the defying death-song, all were heie; 
and when the tiger strife was over, here curled the smoke 
of peace. Here, too, they worshipped ; and from many a 
dark bosom went up a pure prayer to the Great Spirit. 
He had not written his laws for them on tables of stone, 
but He had traced them on the tablets of their hearts. 
The poor child of nature knew not the God of revelation,. 



418 OLD residents" historical association. 



l3ut the God of the universe he acknowledoed in evervthino* 
around. He beheld him in the star that sank in beauty 
behind his lowly duelHng, in the sacred orb that flamed 
on him from his midday throne ; in the flower that 
snapped in the morning breeze, in the lofty pine that had 
defied a thousand whirlwinds ; in the timid warbler that 
never left its native grove, in the fearless eagle whose 
nntired pinion was wet in clouds ; in the Avorm that crawled 
at liis foot, and in his own matchless form, glowing with a 
spark of that light to whose mysterious Source he bent, in 
humble though blind adoration. And all this has passed 
away. Across the ocean came a pilgrim bark, bearing the 
seeds of life and death. I'he former were sown for you. 
the latter s|)rang up in the path of the simple native. 
Two hundred vears have changed the character of a great 
continent, and l)lotted forever from its face a whole, 
peculiar peojile. Art has usurped the bowers of natnre, 
and the anointed children of education have been too 
])owcrful for the tribes of the ignorant. Here and there 
H sc-attered few remain ; but how unlike their bold, 
untamed, untamable progenitors. The Indian of falcon 
glance and lion bearing, the theme of the touching ballad, 
the hero of the pathetic tale, is gone, and his degraded 
offspring cra>\l upon the soil where he walked in majesty, 
to remind us how mis(>rable is man wlien the foot of the 
conqueror is on his neck. 

••As a race, they have withered from the land. ■ Their 
arrows are broken, their springs are dried up, their cabins 
are in the dnst. Their council fire has lono- since "'one 
out on the shore, and their war crv is fast dviiii? awav to 
the untrodden west. Slowly and sadly they climb the 
distant mountains, and read their doojn in the setting sun. 
They are shrinking before the mighty tide which is pressing 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 419 



them away; they must soon hear the roar of the hist wave. 
^^hich will settle over them forever. Ages hence, the 
inquisitive wliite man, as he stands by some growing- 
city, will ponder on the structure of their disturbed 
remains, and wonder to what manner of person they 
belonged. They will live only in the songs and chronicles 
of their exterminators. I^et these be faithful to their rude 
virtues as men. and pay due tribute to their unhappy fate 
as a people." * 



Joseph H. Guillet. Esq.. president of the Franco- 
American Society of the United States, who had spent 
some years in Canada, spoke on the history of the St. 
Francis tribe as follows : — 

In IGOo, Samuel de Champlain. while exploring the 
St. Lawrence River, had his attention attracted to a small 
river running into the southerly side of Lake St. Peter, of 
which he gives a very minute descriprion. (Continuing, he 
says. •• On the same side of Lake St. Peter there is another 
small river running into a small bay which may be three 
01- four 1-agues in Avidth." This is the Bay of St. Francis, 
and tlie river is the St. Francis River, -^vhich has its source 
near the boundary lines of New Hampshire and Maine. 

Six years later, the same explorer, describing anew 
the country lying at the southerly side of Lake St. Peter, 
said, '• These ii\ers are in a good and rich country and 
abound \vith all sorts of fish."' 

In January. Kioo. Charles Huault de Montmai>nv. 
then Governor of New France, granted to Francis de 
Lauzon this vast and rich tract of land, extending from 



* Roscoe Conkliii;,' pronounoea this the finest passage by any man of his lime. 



420 OLD residents' historical association. 

the Kivcr St. Francis to A\hat is now called Cliatanfyay 
Iliver, on the St. Lawrence, with a depth of over 150 
miles. 

Between the years 1G38 and KiTG. the privileges of 
the Lanzon family were abolished, and this vast domain 
was cnt np into smaller fiefs or grants. 

On the third day of April. 164"2. a son was born to 
Christoplier C'revier and Jeanne his wife. This child was 
named Jean, and to this Jean Crevier the domain of St. 
Francis was granted by letters patent. Jnly 2:), 1673, and 
dnly approved by the King's Conncil in lb74. There- 
after Jean Cre\ier was called the Baron or Seignenr of 
St. Francis. 

In 167(i, by an ordinance of the King of France, all 
the lands adjoining the C'revier domain were nnited to it. 
making it to measnre five miles along the river St. Law- 
rence on each side of the St. Francis, with a depth of 
several miles inland, inclndini'' all the islands in the river. 

From 1608 to 1084, ])eace reigned in New France. 
The Irocpiois, intimidated by the troops, had bnried the 
tomahawk. 

Several other grants near the St. Francis River were 
settled. rros])erity and peace flonrished everywhere in 
New France. Ihe Abenakis Indians, a peo|)le from 
^Liiue and Acadia, bad made an alliance with Baron St. 
Castin and other French commanders, abont the time 
Acadia was returned to France by virtue of the treaty of 
Breda in 1()04. Frontenac. knowing the rich character of 
these Indians, cultivated their friendship. 

In 1072. at a meeting of the three orders at Quebec, 
a large number of Abenakis asked to be allowed to take 
the oatli of allei'iance and fidelitv to the King of France. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 421 



III 1677, a large band of Abeiiakis was settled at 
Sillery. near Quebec. In 1679, the Sokokis. a tribe of 
New Hampsldre Indians, unable to agree with the new 
order of things, were driven away from their native land 
by the British colonists and joined the Abenakis in New 
France, where they found the refuge and protection ^hich 
were denied them in their ow n land. 

The establishment of these Indians in New France 
dates from that time, and in 1680 w^e already find a large 
number of them settled at Becancourt, under the auspices 
of the Robineau family. In the same year quite a large 
number of these Abenakis and Sokokis, who were then 
merged into one family or tribe, went to the St. Francis 
and sent a delegation to the Sieur C'revier to tell him that 
they had decided to make their home in his domain. 
Sieur Crevier was somewhat startled at this announcement. 
Me told them that the land was his, and that he could not 
^ery well allow them to remain. The Indians felt dis- 
pleased at this answer, and Sieur Cre^ier to appease them 
told them they could have all the milk they wanted and 
in the mean time he would see what could be done for 
them. The Indians were satisfied for the time being and 
went a mile and a half up the river and erected their 
wigwams. 

King Philip's war in New England, ^^•hich had ruined 
so many families, AAas now terminated. Captain Church 
had cut off King Philip's head, and had displayed it 
on the palisades at Plymouth. The chief's son was sold 
into slavery in Bermuda, and the dvnastv of Massasoit. 
who welcomed the Pilgrims to Plymouth and remained 
their constant friend throui'hout his loni>- life, was thus 
ended, and a temporai-y peace existed in the colonies. 



422 OLD residents' historical association. 



Wannalancet, son of the great sachem Passaconaway 
and the hist chief of the Merrimac River Indians, left the 
shores of the Merrimac and led his little hand of Indians 
to the ncAv home of the Abenakis at St. Francis. Those 
friendly Indians were kindly received as brothers, and 
with the Abenakis and the Sokokis they formed one 
family, now called the Indians of St. Francis. 

James II went down Avith the Stnart dynasty in 
England, William and Mary were placed on the throne, 
and now commenced that terrible war between the British 
and the French colonists in America, which devastated so 
many rich and prosperous settlements in New England 
and in New France. 

The Abenakis had been dispersed. ^Nlany joined the 
army, and, like the Iroquois of New York, they helped to 
make tlie war still more horrible. 

At the close of King William's war the Abenakis 
and their friends went back to St. Francis. 

Jean Crevier had been carried away by the Iroquois 
and died at Albany as the result of tortures inflicted upon 
him by these Indians. Joseph Crevier. his son and heir, 
succeeded to his father as Seigneur of St. Francis, and 
being pleased with the fidelity and good beha\ior of his 
proteges gave them a tract of land a mile and a half 
wide on each side of the River St, Francis and three miles 
long up river, together with all the islands in the river 
and the right to fish, '-for them and tlieir heirs and succes- 
sors for as long as there shall be maintained a mission 
among them." 

In the same year the Seigneur of Pierreville added to 
this ornxut four and one-half miles more of land. These 
two grants, forming a lot six miles wide along the river 
with a depth of three miles, are the existing reservations of 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 4 '23 



the St. Francis Indians. As soon as these Indians were 
settled in their new possession they commenced the con- 
strnctiou of their new mission chnrch. which was speedily 
finished and dedicated to the worship of (jiod. 

The 4th day of May. 17()"i, commenced in Enrope 
the war called the war of the Spanish snccession. or (^neen 
Anne's war. France and England found themselves 
involved in it. The French and British colonies in 
America thouiiht they would follow suit, and each resumed 
hostilities. New England as well as New France suffered 
terribly from the Indians. The frontier towns of Massa- 
chusetts and New Hampshire were freciuentlv assailed and 
a great many capti^•es were carried away from rich and 
peaceable settlements. Among these captives was a young 
lad named Samuel Gill, who had been captured at Ames- 
bury. This lad was allotted to the Indians of St. Francis. 
In 1715 these Indians decided that it was time for young 
Gill to be married. They deliberated a long time to 
ascertain whether he should marry a white or an Indian 
woman. AVliile they were so deliberating, Father Aubery. 
their missionary priest, knowing of a young wliite captive, 
a Miss James, the daughter of a minister who had been 
captured in Amesbury, Massachusetts, went in all haste to 
consult with this young lady about her being married to 
Gill. Both being in accord on the subject, the good 
priest mairied them without further delay, and informed 
the still deliberating Indians of the occurrence. The tribe 
was greatly pleased, as it possessed in tbat way an I'nglish- 
speaking family in their midst, used to the life and 
customs of the children of the woods. 

Now a most remarkable and interesting fact is that of 
this Samuel Gill, who was carried away a captive from 
Amesbury in the time of these terrible raids, there are 



424 OLD residents' historical association. 



over forty descendants now living among ns in Lowell, a 
few miles only from the place of their origin in America. 

Another circumstance not less interesting : Among 
the descendants of the Sieur C'revier, this seigneur of the 
old regime — first owner of the grant of St, Francis and 
father of Joseph Crevier, who so generously gave the St, 
Francis reservation to the Abenakis, Sokokis and the few 
Pawtucket Indians united — there are four or five families 
living in Lowell. And Mr, A. J. Blazon, a law student 
and a member of the Board of Registrars of ^"oters of this 
city, is a direct descendant through his father and mother 
of this old time nobleman. 

The St. Francis Lidians have remained to this day 
the loyal and f\iithful allies and friends of their bene- 
factors. Under the guidance of their good missionaries 
and able chiefs they have prospered and lived in peace 
and comfort. They certainly have met with reverses — for 
instance, their mission church has been burned four times 
since 1701, The last time, it was struck by lightning in 
-Tulv of last vear. Thev are striviu"' to rebuild tliat 
church, as they consider it their place of rendezvous — 
their home and the only tie whicli keeps and binds them 
together. 

It is with pleasure that I also welcome among us 
today chief Joseph Laurent, the sachem of this interesting 
tribe. 

Mr. George II. Marston. President of the Board of 
Trade, Mr. John A. Bailey and Mr. Allen Dodge followed, 
and the Rev. Gcor^-e M. Bodge, author of a historv of 
King Philip's War. sent a letter, all expressing gratifica- 
tion over the honor paid to Wannalancet and the visit of 
Chief Joseph Laurent. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 425 



Judge Cowlcv. having been called to the chair upon 
the retirement of flavor Dimon, spoke as follows : — 

My ac(juaintance with tlie worthy chief who is our 
guest of honor tonight began during the pendency before 
Congress of the bill \yhicli has since become the Uingley 
tariff law, although I hud yisited his country sonic years 
preyiously. In f(n-nier times, the St. Francis Indians, 
whose chief industry is basket-making, made their goods 
at Pierreyille on the St. Francis lliyer, and brought them 
into the United States duty free. But the Dingley tariff 
imposed so high a duty on these simple wares that Chief 
Laurent saw there must be a '• change of base," or that 
branch of industry must perish. I prepared, with care, 
remonstrances to Congress setting forth the hardships to 
which these humble Indians would l)e subjected if that 
bill passed ; but to these Congress turned a deaf ear. 

Since the passage of the Dingley tariff, the St. 
Francis Indians still pass their winters in Canada ; but 
every summer they come to Intervale, New Plampshire, 
and make their baskets there, and sell them wherever 
they can in the United States. I cannot help thinking 
that Congress stooped to pretty small business when it 
thus practically prohibited the importation of goods of this 
sort. 

I was glad to have the chief present at the dedication 
this afternoon of the noble tablet to this chief of the 
ancient time ; rhe Colonial '' Dames " were glad, all were 
glad to look upon his honest, manly face, and to hear him 
talk in both his native tongues (for French and Indian are 
alike native tongues to him) as well as in Fnglish. 

I must not omit to state that Chief Joseph Laurent 
is an author, having written and published a valuable 
book entitled " Abenakis and Indian Dialogues." I would 



■i'-iG OLD RESIDEJSTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



also sav that the Smithsonian Institution at Washington 
is about to pubhsh a more ambitious work of the same 
kind in the Xatick dialect, which was laro:elY the dialect 
of the St. Francis tribe. It will be seen from that book 
that the language of the aborigines of North America is 
by no means extinct. 

We are much indebted to the chief for coming from 
his far-off forest home in Canada to assist in the dedi- 
cation of the tablet at Tyngsboro", and to add to the 
many interesting memories which cluster around Memorial 
Hall. I hope that other visits to both these shrines will 
be made by him hereafter. I am sure that they will be 
as pleasant alike to the people here as to him. 

That ancient mansion at Tyngsboro'. the oldest now 
inhabited in this part of the Merrimac Valley, is signalized 
by its connection with two historic characters — AVanna- 
lancct and Whitefield. There Wannalancet lived the 
Gospel ; there Whiteheld preached the Gospel. 

AMiile ^ye. cannot affii-m with certainty that Wanna- 
lancet dwelt in the gambrel-roofed house which now stands 
on the hill rising westward from Drake's Crossing (which 
possibly may have been erected after the old chief's death), 
Avc c;in affirm a\ ith certainty that AMiitefield was once an 
honored guest in that house, and as it was Whitefield's 
practice to use boulders for his pulpits when preaching in 
the open air. it may be conjectured that, in his effort to 
renew the life of God in the souls of the people, he stood 
upon the identical rock on which the Massachusetts 
Society of Colonial Dames lia\ e plac(Ml their bronze memo- 
rial tablet to Wannalancet. 

For all the kind words that have been uttered today, 
touching my part in these affairs, I return my best 
thanks. 



THE LAST OF THE SACHEMS. 



427 



. I will now ask the chief to repeat to you, in English, 
in Abenakis and in French, the substance of the remarks 
which he made this afternoon at Tyngsboro' ; after 
which I shall be happy to present to him as many of you 
as may come forward to the platform. 



It was noticed that many of those present who were 
of French-Canadian birth or parentage followed the 
chief very closely in each of his three languages with 
evident enjoyment. Among those who were presented 
to the chief was Madam Lemaitre, of Lowell, a sister 
of the late Judge Charles Gill, formerly Justice of the 
Superior Court at Montreal. 



ir. Zina E. Stone. By Alfred 1\ Sawyer, Estj. 
Read May 28, 1901. 



It is fitting, at this annual meeting which marks the 
first third of a centnry in the hfe of the Old Residents' 
Historical Association of Lowell, that we should devote 
some time to re\iewing the life and recalling the many 
kindly deeds of him who founded it, and was its strongest 
advocate and supporter — the late Zina Eugene Stone. 
Although Mr. Stone was not a native of this citv, or of 
this commonwealth, yet the greater part of his life was 
spent here. As a journalist he came in contact with the 
people of his adopted city, he felt the daily impulse of her 
busy life, and kept in touch with all that was best in her 
progress. 

Mr. Stone was born in Bethel, Elaine, March 30, 
1823. His parents, Luther and Hadassah (Kimball) 
Stone, removed to Paris, Maine, in l<S"iS, and his boyhood 
was spent in that town, and it Mas there he received his 
early education in the common schools At the age of 
fourteen, while yet unable to reach all the type in the 
case, he entered the office of the Oxford Democrat, 
published in Paris, and served four years in learning the 
printer's trade. It is said that he was a true bov. full of 
fim. not liking the work of the farm, but fond of books. 
These early years were evidently formative of his future 
life as a journalist, his literary tastes and ability, and his 
love of travel. 



ZINA E. STONE. 42^) 



111 1842. while yet a minor, he came to Lowell, 
and entered the office of the Advertiser, but soon went 
to Concord, N. H.. and worked in the office of the 
New Hampshire l^atriot. published \)\ the late (iov. Isaac 
Hill. Thence he went to Bradford, \t., ])ut returned to 
Lowell the following spring. That winter he spent in his 
old home in Elaine, but in the spring he secured a posi- 
tion in a book publishing office in Boston, returning again 
to Lowell to work on the A'ox Populi, then |)ublislied by 
Samuel J. 'S'arney. The Ad\ertiser having been pur- 
chased by Messrs. Hildreth 6c ^'arney in 1(S45, Mr. 
Stone was made the foreman of that office, where he 
remained until he accepted an offer to become the foreman 
of the mechanical department of the Boston AVeekly 
^Museum. ^Mlell ^h\ ^'arney purchased the Lowell Daily 
Courier establishment in 1S5(). and leased the Vox I'opuli 
to Mr. John T. Chesley, Mr. Stone again became foreman 
of the Vox office. 

Mr. Stone first commenced business for himself by 
purchasing the printing office of Leonard Brown in 
1854, and starting, May 'iOth of that year, the publica- 
tion of a weekly paper called The American Citizen. 
Later, he and ]\ir. Chesley bought the News, Mr. Stone 
purchasing the mechanical part of the establishment for 
use in his Citizen office, and September lOth, 1855, he 
brought out the ffrst issue of The Daily American Citizen. 
This newspaper, which is still published under a shorter 
title, bore the motto. " Independent in Everything ; 
Neutral in Nothing." and owed its success to the faithful 
and conscientious work of its etHtor and publisher, Mr. 
Stone. In April, 1856. he sold the Citizen to Brown & 
Morey for .f 4500. and went to CJhicago, visiting Kansas 
and other parts of the west. While in Chicago he was 



•130 OLD RESIDENTS* HISTORICAL ASSOCIA 1 ION. 



engaged in editorial and newspaper work. Retnrning 
from the west in 1858, ho bought the plant of The Lowell 
Trumpet, moved it to Haverhill, Mass.. enlarged it, and 
January 1, 1859, issued the first number of The Tri- 
Weekly Publisher, and continued its publication for about 
one year. 

Mr. ^'arney having died November 11, 1859, his 
executors sent for Mr. Stone, and on January 1, 18(i(), 
sold the Vox Populi to him and Stephen W. Iluse, and 
April Kith of that year Stone & Iluse also purchased the 
Lowell Daily Courier and the Lowell Weekly Journal, 
and managed the combined plants for seven years under 
the editorship of Mr. Stone. They sold the Courier and 
the Journal to Marden & Rowell, September 1, 1867, but 
continued to print both papers for about one year at the 
\ox Populi office. In 1869 they began the publication 
of the Saturday Vox Populi in addition to the Wednesday 
edition, and in 1870 the late X. J. N. Bacheller. who had 
lono; been the foreman of the office, was admitted to the 
fii-m, Avhich then became Stone, Iluse & Company. In 
October. 1878, after eighteen years continuous manage- 
ment of the paper, Mr. Stone with Mr. Bacheller retired 
from the firm, and were succeeded by the late John A. 
Goodwin, the firm becoming Huse. GoodAvin & Company. 
Mr. Stone then formed a partnership with Mr Bacheller 
and E})hraim D. Livingston, under the firm name of 
Stone, Bacheller & Livingston, and July 1, 1879. com- 
menced the publication of the Lowell Morning Mail. 
They also published a semi-weekly edition which was sub- 
sequentlv changed to a weekly issue called the Saturday 
Mail. In 1882, the business of Stone, Bacheller »!<: Living- 
ston was transferred to tlie Morning Mail Corporation, 



ZINA E. STONE. 4']1 



of which Mr. Stone was })resident trul Mr. JJachellor 
treasurer, and the paper af([nircd more than a local 
reputation. 

Some men are born journalists, and Mr. Stone pos- 
sessed in a marked degree that attribute known as •• the 
newspaper instinct." Trained in the business from early 
boyhood. '• a graduate from the printer's case," he loved 
the work, he read and wrote much, and he brought into 
his profession an indomitable perseverance which made a 
success of whatever he undertook. He was a Republican 
in politics, and his papers, especially the Mail, which 
started in competition with the Lowell Morning Times, 
then the only Democratic daily in the city, always sup- 
ported the princii)les of the Republican party. He never 
sought ])ublic office, but was elected in 1855 and 18()6 a 
representative to the General Court from old ward six. 

He was appointed a trustee of the Danvers Tiuiatic 
Hospital by Governor Greenhalge. and held the position 
at the time of his death. He was a member of Mechanics 
Lodo'e, I. O. O. F., and had taken all the deo-rees in Free 
Masonry except the thirty-third, and was a member of 
Pentucket Lodge, and of the Chapter, Council, C'om- 
maiidery and Consistory. He possessed deep religious 
convictions, but was broad in his views and unbigoted. and 
was tolerant of and respected the beliefs of others. The 
Shattuck Street Liniversalist Society, with A^'hicll he became 
connected under the pastorate of Ur. ?diner, always com- 
manded his best services. He was chairman of the 
prudential committee for many years, but as the present 
pastor has said of him, •' Pie never assumed to own the 
church nor to establish a one-man church. When things 
did not go to his liking he did not turn away, but remained 
the staunch supporter as before." When the church 



482 OLD KESIDEISTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



removed to a more distant location and became the Grace 
Universalist Clinrch. he contribnted liberally to the erec- 
tion and furnishing of the new edifice, and made generous 
provision for the church in his will. He l)elieved in 
human advancement along educational lines. He was 
much interested in the Middlesex Mechanics Association 
at the time when the lecture platform commanded the 
abilities of the foremost thinkers and orators of the dav, 
and he was influential as chairman of the lecture com- 
mittee in bringing such men before the Lowell public. 

No sketch of Mr. Stone's life could be properlv 
written which did not mention his wife and their home. 
Miss Charlotte A. Shaw, to whom he was married Decem- 
ber 31, 18-46, was born in Sharon, Maine, August 6, LS'io. 
She was a true helpmate, and assisted him in every way 
in the early struggles of his life. She Avas a model wife, 
and she possessed that indefinable charm which attracted 
people, which drew children to her. which made friends. 
She possessed a strong affection, even love, for animals, 
which was shown not only toward them as household 
pets, but was manifested in her keen sense of the injus- 
tice done and the pain so often inflicted upon them. It 
is very probable that Mr. Stone's generous bequests to 
the Lowell Humane Society and the ^lassachusetts Society 
for the l^revention of Cruelty lo Animals were inspired 
by this love of his wife. She possessed fine musical tastes 
and was prominent in musical circles in this city, and 
was for many years the soprano in the choir of the Shat- 
tuck Street LTni\'ersalist Church, and also sang in other 
church choirs. Their home, which during nearh- all 
their life in Lowell was on Chestnut street, was ever open 
to their friends, who found in their pleasant home-life 
natures peculiarly fitted to attract and hold those who 



ZINA E. STO^'E. 4 3'*^ 



are drawn bv stcrlin": worth and \irtnou.s character. No 
children were born to them to bless and grace their home, 
and when Mrs. Stone died after a long and painful ill- 
ness, October '21, lS8(i, the once happy home was deso- 
late. Years afterward Mr. Stone said he had never known 
happiness since his wife died. His bequest to the Lowell 
General Hospital for the establishment of a free bed. 
'•in remembrance of my late beloved Avife, Charlotte A. 
Stone,"" tells pathetically how tenderly he cherished her 
memory and sought to perpetuate it in l)enefaction to the 
sick and sufterin"-. 

After the business of his firm had been transferred 
to the Morning Mail Corporation, Mr. Stone felt relieved 
from some of the pressure of active newspaper work. 
He had already l)een abroad and had tra\'elled exten- 
sively in this country, his wife being his almost con- 
stant companion, and after her decease his winters were 
passed in Florida for several years, Mexico was visited 
and the ^^'est Indies, and he again went abroad. 
In later years California became his place of winter 
residence, but the journalistic instinct was always strong 
within him, and in addition to other contributions to 
its columns, his letters of travel which appeared in 
the Mail during all these years were instructive and 
entertaining. These letters bound in printed form he 
bequeathed to our City Library. Many books of travel 
have been written of far less interest than these com- 
pilations from his pen. He liad a charming narrative 
style, and his powers of description enabled him to ])re- 
sent to his readers a realistic word-picture of the scene 
before him, in language marked by its purity and sim- 
plicity. He was an easy writer, and the words which 



434 OLD RESIDE^"JS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



flowed from his pen seldom needed revision. His edi- 
torials were clear and forcefiil. and left no donbt as to 
his meaning', his thonghts being always expressed clearly 
and cogently in '• Englisli nndefyled." Onr veteran 
printer, Mr. J. J. Judkins, who came to Lowell in 1837. 
and worked on the Advertiser with him in 184'i, savs 
that even then Mr. Stone wrote for the paper and was 
recognized as a young man of ability and promise. His 
tastes were essentially those of a student. He delighted 
in research, and devoted considcrahle time in later years 
to the investigation of his family records and history. 

He came of good stock, and satisfactorily established 
his descent from Symond Stone, of ^Incli Bromlev, Essex. 
England, whose will, dated May 12, 15()(), was probated 
February 10, 1510. Few there are. even in these days 
ot ancestral trees, who can trace their descent from a 
known ancestor li^ing when Columbus brought to the 
Old World the tidings of tlie New. Simon Stone, the 
fifth in descent from this Symond. was the founder of 
the family in America. He came with his funily from 
London in the ship ''Increase" in 1635, being fifty years 
old, and settled in Watertown on the banks of the Charles 
River, and was one of tlie largest landowners in the town. 
A considerable part of the land now occupied by the 
Mount Auburn and the Cambridge Cemeteries once 
belonged to him. In the latter, near the Charles River, 
is an old, twisted pear tree, carefully preserved, whose 
trunk is more than t^No feet in diameter, and a marble 
slab at its roots bears this inscription, '-Tree set by S. 
Stone M^ho Came 1635." He was made a freeman in 
163(), and took an active part in church and town affairs, 
filling various positions, being selectman for several years 
and also a deacon of the church. His son and grandson, 



ZINA E. STONE. 



4:35 



both named Simon Stone, were also deacons, and it is 
remarkable that this Watertown chnrch for the continuons 
period of abont seventy-five years had a deacon of that name. 
Mr. Stone's ancestor, Simon Stone, who settled in Groton 
in 1()8(). bein"- the second in descent from "Simon the 
Pilgrim " who settled in Watertown. served in King- 
Philip's War, and also in King William's AVar, and was 
severely wonnded near Exeter, New Hampshire. Cotton 
Mather, in his Magnalia Christi Americana (Vol. II, 
page 0(){)), in a chapter npon " Several Rare Instances 
of Mortal Wonnds npon the English, not proving ^Mortal," 
mentions an attack by the Indians. Jnly 5. 1()1)(). on 
Captain Hilton's garrison in Exeter, and says : — 

•• At this time there happened a remarkable thing. — 
one Simon Stone, being here wonnded with shot in iiine 
several places, lay for dead (as it was time!) among the 
dead. 'I'he Indians coming to strip him, attempted with 
two scv(>ral blo^^'s of an hatchet at his neck to cnt off his 
head, which blows added, yon may be snre. more enorrnons 
wonnds nnto those port-lioles of death, at which the life 
of the poor man was already rnnning ont as fast as it 
con Id. Being charged hard by Lientenant Bancroft, they 
left the man without scalping him; and the English now 
coming to bury the dead, one of the soldiers perceived 
this poor man to fetch a gasp ; whereupon an Irish fellow 
then present advised 'em to gi^ e him another dab with an 
hatchet, and so bury him with the rest. Tl:e English, 
detesting this barbarous advice, lifted up the wounded 
man, and poured a little fair water into his mouth, at 
which he coughed, then they poured a little strong water 
after it. at which he opened his eyes. The Irish fellow 
was oidered now to hale a canoo ashore to carry the 
Avonnded men \\\) the river unto a chirurgeon ; and as 
Teague was foolishly pulling the canoo ashore with the 
cock of his gun, while he held the muzzle in his hand, 
his <>un went off. and broke his arm. whereof he remains 



436 OLD residents" historical ASS0CL\110>. 



a Clippie to this day. But Simon Stone was thoroughly 
cured, and is at thin dai/ a very lusty man. — And. reader." 
the Keverend Mather wisely adjures us, " that nothing 
may be despaired of. remember Simon Stone." 

But while Mr. Stone was justly proud of his ancestry, 
he did not belong to any of the patriotic orders. He was 
a l)elieyer in the living present, and his researches in 
genealogy and kindred subjects were merely a means of 
recreation. He was progressive in his ideas and quick to 
perceive the advantages of new methods and inventions. 
He believed in the future of the telephone as a practical 
invention when others looked upon it as a toy, and his 
investments in telephone stocks proved highly renumera- 
tive. In addition to his ncAvspaper interests, he was for 
many years a member of the bookbinding firm of Bachel- 
ler, Dumas & Company. He was one of the organizers 
of the Shaw Stocking Company, and was interested in 
various business enterprises, either actively or as an 
investor. 

His discipleship to " The Art Preservative " led him 
not only to present to his readers the best that a news- 
pa pei- might print, but also to preserve the papers with 
which he had been connected and those of local interest. 
With the bequest of his library to the Paris Public Library 
Association of his childhood's home, which owed its incep- 
tion and much early aid to him, was included a bound 
volume of the Oxford Democrat, the newspaper on which 
he served his apprenticeship. The twenty-fifth article 
of his will is as follows : •• I give and bequeath to the 
Ohl Residents' Historical Association of Lowell, the bound 
newspaper volumes, not otherwise dis])osed of; the bound 
and unbound pamphlets and documents ; all books written 
or ]nd)lished by residents or former residents of said Lowell, 



ZINA E. STONE. 437 



intending in the above to give to the Association only 
books, etc., of local valne and interest." Among the large 
nmnber of books, pamphlets and papers so beqneathed 
will be found bound volumes of newspapers once published 
here, the very names of which are unfamiliar, if not for- 
gotten. The Chelmsford Plia^nix, pul)lished in 1825 ; 
The Lowell Mercury. 1830 ; The Lowell Observer, 1832 ; 
The Star and Palladium ; The Lowell Patriot and Repub- 
lican ; The Middlesex Standard, edited by John Greenleaf 
AVhittier ; The Gazette and Standard; The Spindle City; 
The Lowell Trumpet ; Palmer's Illustrated Life in Lowell ; 
The I^owell Mirror, and The Lowell Herald, published 
at later dates, Avith many others, may be found in this 
collection. 

Mr. Stone realized that if the old papers which 
might still be in existence were to be preserved, it must be 
by personal effort on the part of some one. As he para- 
phrased an old saying in one editorial on tiie subject. 
•' What is everybody's lousiness nobody looks after," and so 
he brought the matter before the public by editorials and 
notices in the Vox. and printed and sent out a circular, 
reproduced on the following pages, not only for the infor- 
mation it contains concerning the early printers and 
newspapers of this vicinity, but also to show tlie interest 
which Mr. Stone took in such matters. 



438 OLD residents' historical association. 



1775 to 1845. 



WANTED: 

Old Books, Old Newspapers, Old Pamphlets, &c. 



The object of this Circular is to interest those 
into whose hands it falls in my efforts to collect for 
preservation samples of the Books, N^ewspapers, Pam- 
phlets, Circulars and Handbills, of all kinds, that were 
printed in, or for use in. Middlesex County, Massachu- 
setts — especially in the Northern tier of towns — from 
the time of the settlement of Chelmsford and Billerica 
down to 1840 or '45. 

In many families, we have reasons for believln^^', has 
been' preserved printed matter of this kind. My object 
is to secure all that I can — make a collection as complete 
as possible — and then put them in a condition for 
preservation, for the benefit of people of future ao-es. 

The first of the articles which follow gives a very 
brief account of the earliest Printing done in this region. 
The second relates more particularly to the Newspapers 
that have at various periods been in existence in 
Chelmsford and Lowell. 

For contributions of Books, Newspapers, Pamphlets, 
&c., of the character specified above, I shall feel under 
many obligations. For certain works I shall be disposed 
to pay reasonable prices. 

Will persons receiving this circular endeavor to 
assist me in completing the collection which I have 
undertaken to make ? By so doing they will confer a 
favor which will be gratefully appreciated. 

Address: Z. E. STONE, 

\^ox Populi office, Lowell, Mass, 

Lowell, Sept. 24, 1877. 



ZINA E. STONE. 



439 



Early Printing and Atithorship in Chelmsford. 



There was somethiiiLj done in the way 
of making books, in this region, a great 
many years ago. 'J"he first printer in the 
region was Nathaniel Coverlv, who in 
1775 removed from Boston to Chehns- 
ford, "and set up his printing press, in 
the south part of the town. Suiuh'y pam- 
phlets and small works were executetl at 
his press, dated ' ('helmsford. New Eng- 
land,' &c." We have never seen any of 
Mr. Coverly's printing ; but it is more 
than jirobable that some of it is in 
existence. 

The first book -ivrittcii in the town of 
Chelmsford was a catechism, by Rev. 
John P'iske, who was horn in Sulfolk, 
England, in 1601, and came to this coun- 
try in 1637. In 1655 he settled in 
Chelmsford. In 1657 he composed anew 
catechism for the use and nistructi(m of 
the children of that town. It was printed 
at the expense of the people of the town, 
by Samuel (ireen, of Cambridge, and bore 
the following title : "Watering the Plant 
"in Christ's Garden : Or, A Short Cate- 
"chism. Enlarged by a three-fold Ap- 
"pendix." It was dedicated "To the 
Church and Congregation of Chelmsford. " 

According to " Allen's History of 
Chelmsford" this first book written in 
that town contained the following intro- 
ductory remarks, which are certainly 
original in expression, if thev do not 
resemble the utterances of a famous ficti- 
tious character created l)y Dickens and 
called "Jack Bunsl)y"' : — 

" Beloved, what is here presented to 
public view is yours. T'or looking to the 
poor penman, as relating to you ; to the 
external moving cause as rising firstly and 
freely from you ; to the end and use as 
centering in you : to the reason Of the 
publishing hereof as resting with you ; 
and to the care and costs as to that end 
expended by you ; it must not otherwise 
be determined, than to be yours. Which 
being so, you have saved me the labor of 



prefacing on behalf either of this so 
necessary and fruitful an exercise of cate- 
chising, or of this present draught, or of 
publishing it. The present encumbrances 
of our new beginning, you know to have 
declined me till of late from writing, and 
my own inabilities much more from pub- 
lishing, being rather desirous of making 
use of some others' labors that way, or at 
least of acting my own feeble apprehen- 
sions in a more private manner among 
ourselves. But God hath moved your 
minds first to see, and seeing to cause, 
that it must be as it is." 

Mr. Allen said : "The work is moder- 
ate in doctrines, catholic in its spirit, and 
well suited, ns it was designed, to water 
the Olive plants in Christ's garden." We 
should be glad to obtain a copy of this 
ancient little book ; and if any one in the 
town of Chelmsford possesses a copy, 
and will part with it, we will gladly 
purchase it at a fail' price. 

In 1796 a second work of this kind was 
written by another clergyman of tJlielms- 
ford, which leads to the belief that cate- 
chisms were a favorite kind of literatnre 
with the early settlers of the town. We 
have before us the little volume of 84 pages 
bearing the following as its title-page : 
"A Catechism, containing the First Prin- 
"ciples of Religious and Social duties — 
" Adapted to the Capacities of Children 
"and Youth, and Beneficial to Heads of 
"Families. By Hezekiah Packard, Min- 
" ister of Chelmsford. I'rinted liy Sam- 
" uel Hall, No. 53 Cornhill, Boston, 
"1796." 

On the front fly-leaf is written the fol- 
lowing, which shows who it was that first 
owned it : " Rebecker Byam, Her Book 
— the gift of her mother, June 19, 1796." 
This book is now the property of Geo. 
M. Elliott of this city. 

The first of the works we have named 
was printed one hundred and thirty-eight 
years before Mr. Coverly "set up his 
printing press " in Chelmsford ; and the 



440 



OLD KESIDtNTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



second catechism was printed twenty-tme 
years later than the tirst. We should be 
glad to obtain a copy of either of them. 

.\llen's " History of Chelmsford " was 
printed by I'. X. Green, of Haverhill, as 
late as 1820. 

Althouejh Mr. Coverly came to Chelms- 
ford in 1775 (if we are correctly instructed) 
it was not till I<S24 that the first news- 
paper, in this vicinity, made its appear- 
ance, liooks were few then, compared 
with the i)resent time, and the lunnber 
of newspapers throughout the country 
was small. Political and moral principles 
were discussed and disseminated through 
the aid of pamphlets and handbills, 
written for special occasions, and printed 
at the expense of those personally inter- 
ested in their promulgation. Party elec- 
tioneering was also to a large extent 
carried on in this way ; and we judge 



that on this kind of work Mr. Coverly 
must have largely relied for support. 

The lirst newspaper attempted here 
was the Chelmsford Courier, which came 
liefore the public Saturday, August 13, 
1S24 : at least there is no record of any 
one of an earlier date. .\t a later period 
the name was changed, to Chebnsford 
I'/iaiii.x : but before this — March 23, 
1S25 — a daring typo began the publica- 
tion of the I'.idii's' Literary Friend, which 
probaldv had but a short existence. 
When the manufacturing interests had 
ijot a eood foothold in what atterward 
became Lowell, it is probal)le that the 
presses (if there were more than one, 
which is not likely) and material came 
here ; l)ut not a scrap of the first office, 
so far as is known, has been for more 
than a third of a centur_\- in existence in 
any Lowell jirinling office. 



Early Newspapers of Lowell. 



^^ e have been lor some vears endeav- 
oring to secure at least one number of 
all the newspapers that have been under- 
taken in this cit}-. Thus far we have 
succeeded very well. The following is 
a list ol those now in our possession : 



OUR PRESENT I.IS'l-. 



Chelmsford Courier, 
Chelmsford Phrvnix. 
Ladies' Literarv I'riend 

Chelmsford), 
The Merrimack Journal. 
Lowell (Weekly) lournal, 
Lowell Daily Journal, 
Lowell Evangelist, 
Lowell Observer, 
Middlesex Telegraj)'.!, 
The Times, 
Journal and Mercury, 
Low-ell Philanthropist, 
journal and JSulletin. - 
Lowell Messenger, 
Lowell .Advertiser, 
Lowell Caske'. 
Zion's Banner, 
Literary Souvenir, 



East 



1825 
1825 

1S25 
1826 
1828 
1831 
1831 
18^2 
1833 
1833 
1835 
1835 
1835 
1836 

1837 
1838 
1840 
1840 



American Wesleyan ( )bservei', - 1840 

Star of Bethlehem, - ■ - 1S41 

New England Christian Advocate, 1841 

Middlesex Washingtonian. - - 1843 

The Washingtonian. - - - 1843 

Middlesex Standan.. - - - 1844 

The Operative, - . . - 1845 

The True Refornui. • - - 1845 

The Scourge, ... 1845 

Lowell Patriot, .... 1845 

Lowell Republican, ■ - - 1845 

The Niagara, .... 1846 

Lowell Patriot and Ke])ublican, - 1846 

Gospel Fountai'^. - - - 1846 

Lowell Gazetti . - - - - 1847 

Life in Lowell. . - - . 1849 

The Daystar, .... 1850 

Spindle City, .... 185 1 

Lowell Mirror, - - - - 1852 

Lowell Tri-Weekly .Vmerican, - 1853 

Lowell Daily Herald, - - - 1853 

The Medical Expositor, - - 1854 

The Christian Era, - - - 1854 

Daily Morning News. - - 1856 

The Lowell Trumpei. - " - 1857 

Lowell Sentinel, - - - 1801 

Medical Miscellany, - - - 1862 

Middlesex Worker, - - - 1867 



ZIXA E, STONE. 



441 



These papers have come lo us from all 
directions — iVom l)o\\n lOasl and from 
(Jut West. Some have l)een supplied by 
our citizens ; some have been sent in 
from the neighboring towns. We hope 
to get still more, as the additional copies 
— no iiiatter ho-iO iiianv — 'will add to the 
value of the eolleetio/,. 

We slill lack, it will be seen by the 
names that follo\\\ (juile a nundier. Per- 
sons having a single number ol anv in 
the list Ijelow, will confer a favor by 
sending them to us. When we have 
secured as many as are likely to l>e 
"rescued from oblivion," we propose to 
bind them — with those now published in 
Lowell — in a substantial volume, and 
deposit them in some ji'ace where they 
will be preserved. They will undoubt- 
edly be of more interest in \ears to come 
than now : — 

PAPI^.RS N(rr IN Ol'K l.ISf. 

The Orion. 

The CHobe. 

Daily Review. 

Ladies' Album. 

The Lowell Star. 

Female Advocate. 

The Art of Living. 

The World's Crisis. 

The Sword of Truth. 

The Literary Visitor. 

The Lowell Compend. 

Dixon's Daily Review. 

Temperance Stanchird. 

Went worth's Waverle.v. 

The Budget— (L. H. liicklord.) 

The Truth-Teller— (A, Watson.) 

Lowell Daily Herald — (J. M. Stone.) 

Undoubtetlly there have been others 
commenced here, the names of which we 
have not been able to recall. 



The Lowell /hiilv 'yonrnal, of iS^^l, 
which is namc<l in our first list, was 
short-lived. 'I'hc first dail\' that gained 
a last tooting wa:; the present L'o/irier, 
which in 1846 was changed from a tri- 
weeklv to a dailv and has so continuv-d 
to the i>resfnl time. The Lowell direc- 
tory for ICS51 represents the daily which 
was then iniblished under the com|iound 
name of Lowell Pailv journal and 
Courier &<. having been lounded in 1S24. 
This is clearlv an error. 

.Some ot the papers whiih have come 
into existence in Lowell assumed names 
which were enough to swamp llicm. In 
I<S32 the people were favored with the 
Middlesex 7'elei^ra/>h aud Man u faeturers." 
and Fanners'' .iih'oeate. In 1844 a tem- 
perance paper was publislied, called the 
J/iddlese.v ll'ashi Uf^toniiin ami Martha 
Washiuiiton Adi'oeiite. In 1S45 |ohn 
Abbott (familiarlv called " Long |o!in." 
who, if we remrMiiber correctlv, was an 
intemperate temperance man) began a 
snrall paper which he called The Seourt^e, 
and about the same lime a larger sheet 
which he named /'//,' True I^eforiner and 
I nddpendent Tress. We have copies of 
all these papers. 

What adds to the value of these fugi- 
tive numbers of the early papers of Lowell, 
IS the iact that there are no complete 
tiles of any one of them. Lideed out of 
all that can be collected, papers for every 
week, from the beginning of the first one 
down to 1840, cannot be secured. We 
most desire copies of Lowell pap-'is [Pub- 
lished pre7'ious to 1840 ; since that date, 
the files have been more carefully keiit. 



44"2 OLD residents' historical association. 



Probably the gfeater number of the papers in this 
collection were received by him as the result of this 
personal effort. To this Association his loss is indeed 
irreparable. To him more than to anyone else does it owe 
its existence. He was its first secretary, and when he 
resigned on account of the pressure of business matters on 
his time, it was unanimously voted •• that the thanks of 
this Association be presented to Mr. Z. E. Stone, to whose 
efforts, in a great measure, is owing its origin and success- 
ful or<>anization, and for his able and efhcient services as 
secretary." Its purposes ever appealed to him. He was 
one of the most valued contributors to the literary work of 
this Association, no less than eight articles from his pen 
appearing in the six volumes of its •' Contributions,'' and 
his careful verification of all facts and data in these articles 
makes them of great Aalue to any one interested in tne 
subjects to which they relate. 

Of especial interest at this time is his paper entitled 
"The Old Residents' Historical Association: Its Origin 
and Its History for Twenty-Five Years."' which was read 
bv him before the Association, December '21. 1<S9^^, and 
appears with his portrait in the fifth volume of the Con- 
tributions. This article, which gives an accurate account 
of the orio-iii of the Association and the historv of the first 
quarter of a century of its life, is particularly interesting 
because it exhibits the author s innate modesty and his 
skill in writing of a subject so nearly autobiographical, 
with such slight reference to himself, the principal actor 
in it. While we may take pride in the past of this Asso- 
ciation, and in the w^ork done by Mi-. Stone and its other 
founders, and resolve that its present niav be worthy of 
its past, may we not hope that the closing words of his 
article, prophetic though they be. may reach early 



ZINA E. STONE. 



443 



realization I After recalling- the literary work of the 
Association, and its collection of mannscripts, books, 
pamphlets, papers, etc., of pecnliar value, he says: — 

'• The good work which this association has acconi- 
l)lislied in twenty-five years, one may dare hope, is to be 
followed by vastly more, of wider scope and higher pur- 
pose. Is there not in this organization the germ of a 
historical society in Lowell which shall, eventually, have 
ownership in a substantial edifice bearing its name, with 
halls for its meetings and for public use, apartments for 
its library, and ample room for its historic, literary, and 
art accumulations, and which shall, likewise, be an honor 
and an ornament to our fair city ? 80 grand a thing may 
not be consummated in the life time of any inhabitant of 
Lowell today, for life is short, and time is fleeting ; but 
may it not be among the possibilities now foreshadowed ? " 

Although Mr. Stone possessed the tastes of an anti- 
quary, he ^^'as far from being a recluse. He was a most 
social man by nature, but modest to a fault regarding him- 
self and his abilities and attainments. He was free from 
envv to a marked degree, and was quick to perceive and 
recoo-nize worth in others. Honest and sincere himself, 
he had full faith in the honesty and sincerity of his fellow- 
men. He was ever generous and ready to help those in 
need. Especially was his kindness and assistance shown 
toward young men and women who were faithfully strug- 
gling under difhculties and in need of a helping hand. 
He was quiet and simple in his tastes, and possessed a 
gentle dignity which well became him. While a man of 
strong opinions and able to express himself with force and 
directness if occasion demanded, he had a natural refine- 
ment almost womanly. He looked upon wealth as a 
trust, and his testamentary disposition of his property 
manifests his realization of his stewardship. His bequest 



444 OLD residents' historical association. 



of $3000 to the Lowell Cemetery, the hicome of which, 
after caring for his lot and providing flowers at his wife's 
grave and his own, should be expended annually " in 
improving lots which have long been neglected by the 
unknown owners or in other ways beneficial to the ceme- 
tery.'" exhibits his thoughtful care for the memory of the 
neglected dead, and a delicate appreciation of the needs of 
the cemetery of which he had been a trustee for many 
years. His similar bequest of f 1000 for the care of the 
family burial lot in Maine, and the application of the 
surplus income ''in improving the neglected places" in 
that cemetery, shows his filial love and his tender regard 
for the friends of his vouth who lune found their resting 
place in •• that sacred spot."' as lie calls it in his will. His 
benevolence was inspired by love for his fellowmen, and 
his division of the residue of his estate between the Old 
Ladies' Home, the Ayer Home, and the Ministry-at-Large. 
— a provision for the aged, the homeless children, and the 
unfortunate in our midst, — constitutes a fitting memorial 
for a man whose life was pure and true, who honored the 
city in which he lived, and who left the world better by 
his liaA ing lived in it. 

At the time of his death, June 26. 1899. at the a^e 
of 76 years, Mr. Stone was the Nestor of Low^ell journalists. 
Few^ if any men in New England possessed a greater 
knowledge of practical new\spaper work, and few achieved 
greater success in his profession. 

He founded The American Citizen and the Daily Citi- 
zen, now^ published as a morning paper ; he edited and 
pubhshed the Low^ell Daily Courier and the Lowell 
Weekly Journal for seven years ; he was at three different 
times, covering a period of more than twenty years, the 
conductor of the Vox Fopuli, of pleasant memory ; he 



ZIXa £. STONE. 445 



founded the Lowell Morning ^lail, and was actively 
engaged as its editor and publisher until a few years 
before his death. A record which is certainly unsurpassed 
in Lowell journalism. 

But a more enduring monument to his memoi'y as a 
journalist, is the fact that in all he did. and in all he wrote 
during this long career, he was ever tlie generous, court- 
eous gentleman. As one of his contemporaries wrote of 
him : — - lie was a journalist of the highest character, and 
a writer of much power. He was emphatic but always 
just, and never feared to say what he thought was foi- the 
best interests of the people. He was in everything manly 
and truthful, and ne^er wrote a line in his long newspaper 
career that he needed to recall.'" It is diihcidt to appre- 
ciate the wonderful influence of such a life in this 
community. For over half a centui-y he uas a citizen of 
Lowell, and during all those years he wielded a power for 
good or ill which few men realize. — the Powcn- of the 
Press. It is the glory of Mr. Stone's career that he used 
this power for the public good, and Avas ever faithful to 
the higher ethics of his profession. He wrought his life- 
work well, and laid do\Mi the burden of his years iu peace, 
without an enemy in the world, res})ected by all, and 
loA'ed by many a friend. 



Report of Coimnittee on Bij-Laivs, Decemljev 26, 
1001. 



At the annual meeting of The Okl llesidents' His- 
torical Association of Lowell held May 28. 1901. Alfred 
P. Sawyer, Esq., spoke of the necessity of some changes 
in the association and its management if it Avas to meet 
with continued success, calling attention to the gradual 
decrease in membership, the disadvantages of a voluntary 
association, aud the fact that the library and other prop- 
ertv of the association had never been brought together 
and catalogued. After some discussion the matter was 
referred to a committee consisting of Alfred P. Sawyer, 
Frederick Lawton, and Albert L. Bacheller, and this 
conunittee reported at a s[)ecial meeting of the associa- 
tion held December 26, 1901, as follows : — 

To The Old Residents Historical Association of Lowell, 
Mass : — 

Your Committee to whom at the last annual meeting 
was referred the following motion, " That the matter of 
incorporating this association, of cataloguing its library, 
and of securing suitable rooms, be referred to a com- 
mittee of three to be appointed by the chair, who shall 
report within six months," beg leave to submit the 
following report. 

The Old Residents' Historical Association of Lowell 
owes its inception to the desire of several gentlemen who 
were early residents of Lowell, to form an association 
which should be historical in its nature and should kee}) 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BY-LAWS. -44:7 



alive their early recollections of the town. The one who 
was most active in its formation and who aided it in every 
way by word and pen, was the late Zina E. Stone, the 
then editor of the Vox Popnli, whose sketch of the Asso- 
ciation in volume five of the ''• Contributions " gives a full 
and accurate account of its organization and its history 
for twenty-five years. 

It was a purely voluntary association limited in 
membership to a certain ])ortion of the community. The 
by-laws fixing the ([ualifications of membership required 
a residence in Lowell at the time of its incorporation as 
a city in l.s;)(). or a residence in Lowell for thirty three 
years, and an age limit of forty-five years. No attempt 
at incorporation was made, and the natural result of tliese 
conditions in a city of changing population like Lowell 
was that the membershi[) tended to constantly » diminish 
witli small chance of increase. Notwithstanding changes 
in the by-laws, this tendency had become so marked that 
in 1S93 the by-laws were again clnuiged, and fifteen 
years residence in Lowell or adjoining towns and the age 
of twenty-one years was made the qualification of member- 
ship, but even this change has not resulted in any marked 
increase in membership or interest. 

The original members, with but few exceptions, have 
either died or removed from town, and the results of the 
Association's existence arc showai b\ six volumes of the 
•• Contributions " already published, a collection of books, 
papers, pamphlets, etc., of local interest, and a fund of 
nearly Jj^TOO. 

' The membership, as reported by the secretary, is now^ 
one hundred an I twenty-one resident and three non- 
resident members, and the income for 1900, largely from 
annual membership dues of ^l each, was .f 160.52. 



44s OLD RESIDENJS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



The Association by the courtesy of the city of Lowell 
has the free use of a room in the Memorial Building for 
its meetings, and its books, pamphlets, etc., are stored in 
the cit} library in the same building. 

The by-laws do not provide for a librarian to have 
charge of its collections, and its books are not catalogued 
or even preser^■ed together in the city library, although 
there is a list of the large collection of books, papers, etc., 
given the Association by the will of ^Iv. Stone, so that 
the} can be identified. Your committee earnestly advise 
that a temporary librarian or a committee be appointed 
to collect and arrange the books and other property of the 
Association and to catalogue them. 

As has been stated, onlv a verv few of the orii>inal 
members of the Old Kesidents' Historical Association 
remain. \o marked gains in membershi[) have been 
made in recent years, and unless some increase of interest 
shall be induced, it Avill cease to be self-supporting, with 
the natural result of final dissolution. It is to this latter 
conditicni that your committee have given their greatest 
consideration, and during the time allotted them the mem- 
bers of the committee have visited several other historical 
associations, and by inquiry and by correspondence have 
endeavored to ascertain their method and purpose of 
organization, their methods of management, and the 
sources and reasons of their success or failure. 

Massachusetts is rich in such associations. Her 
history, the early founding of her towns, and the illus- 
trious services of her sons, furnish much material for. the 
historian and the antiquarian. Many towns have their 
local historical societies, wherein are collected and preserved 



REPORT OF CO:SLMlTTEl!: ON BY-LAWS. 4J:9 

books, manuscripts, objects of aiitiquariau interest, and 
whatever may illustrate the Htc and times of the early 
settlers of the town. 

Boston has several, two of which, the Massachusetts 
Historical Societv and the New England Historic Gen- 
ealogical Society, have a national reputation ; Worcester 
has two, the American Antiquarian Society and the 
Worcester Society of Anti(piity ; and similar associations 
at Watertown. 13rookHne, Dedhani. Walpole, Taunton, 
Fitchburg. Lexington, Concord, Salem, Ipswich, l^ynn, 
Gloucester, Newbury[)ort, and Woburn, in tins section of 
the state, may be mentioned. Providence has the fine 
building and the priceless collections of the Tlliode Island 
Historical Society, and Concord, X. II., and other New 
England towns support such associations. 

The Massachusetts Historical Society was organized 
in 171)1. and incorporated by special act of the legislature 
in 171)4. Its membership is limited to one hundred, and 
it is virtually a publishing society, issuing two series of 
publications, one of proceedings and the other of col- 
lections. It is richly endowed, and its elegant building, 
115-1 Boylston street, overlooking the Fen Way, contain- 
incr its librarv of fortv-eiuht thousand volumes, and a. 
most valuable collection of paintings and relics, bears 
witness to the able management which has made it a 
typical Boston institution. 

The, New England Historic Genealogical Society was 
formed in 1(S44, and incorporated by special act in 1845. 
It owns a substantial granite building on Somerset street, 
opposite the new court house, and its library contains 
about twenty-eight thousand volumes and twenty-seven 
thousand pamphlets. It possesses a membership of 
nearly one thousand, divided into honorary, corresponding, 



450 OLD RESIUEISTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOJS. 



resident, and life members, the last two classes only beinij;- 
entitled to vote in the affairs of the society. The annual 
dues are three dollars, and its property, including a large 
number of funds, is valued at about f 160. 000. It pub- 
lishes the New England Historical and Genealogical 
Register, and issues from time to time pamphlets on 
various subjects relating to the purposes of its organization. 
Its recordino- secretarv, Mr. George A. Gordon, is well 
known in this city, of which he was a former resident. 

The fine quarters and extensive collection of the 
Essex Institute at Salem, as also the collections of the Con- 
cord and Lexington societies, are too well known to call 
for extended notice. 

The two AA'orcester societies are in flourishing condi- 
tion. and the tine building of the American Antiquarian 
Society is shown in the New England jNIagazine for Jan- 
uary, 1901, while the leading and finely illustrated article 
in that number of the magazine is devoted to the Rhode 
Island Historical Society, at Providence, which was incor- 
porated by special act of the General Assembly in \>>'1'1. 

Coming nearer home, the Rumford Historical Asso- 
" ciatiou. of Woburn, which was incorporated for the 
purpose of holding and preserving the birthj)lace of Count 
Rumford in that city, has. in addition to the achievement 
of that pur})ose, accumulated a library of generous propor- 
tions, and holds funds for the maintenance and further 
advancement o( its work. 

The Ipswich Association is housed in an old historic 
mansion, and possesses an invalual)le collection relating 
to the early history of the town, which was settled in lOoI:. 

The Lynn Historical Society possesses ample quarters, 
consisting of hall, library, and ante-rooms, on the third floor 
of the fine building of the Lynn Institution for Savings, in 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BY-LAWS. 



451 



the co:itral part of the city, and its rooms are open at stated 
hours. The annual dues are two doUars, and aUhough 
a young society, it has ah'eady achieved more than a 
'^ habitation and a name." Instructive k^ctures are given 
in the winter, and excursions are arranged in summer to 
points of historic interest. Tlie ladies of the society also 
endeavor to give the society standing and to make it 
useful in a social way. Your committee believe that there 
is much in this I.ynn society worthy of imitation, in that, 
altho'.igh not owning a building, the members of the 
societv make the most of the advantages they possess. 

The Uedham Historical Society, incorporated in 1<SG"2 
bv special act, owns its building, centrally located It is 
of stone and tireproof construction, and has a vault for the 
reception of valuable records. Its library consists of five 
thousand volumes with card catalogue. The membership 
is about one hundred and tifty, limited to residents of that 
town and of towns formerly a part of Dedham, which was 
founded in l(3o6. The annual dues are two dollars, and it 
has no fund, but depends on its membership fees tor main- 
tenance. This society is a good example of success on 
such lines achieved by individual and united effort. Its 
vice-president and former secretary says there is no attempt 
to limit membership or to make the society exclusive, but 
every effort is made to make the people of the town feel 
that it is their institution. The library, in charge of an 
assistant librarian who is paid f^75 per year, is open daily 
at reasonable hours, and the public has free access to its 
shelves. A prize is offered by the society to the gradua- 
ting class of the High School for the best paper on some 
local historical subject selected by the society. Invitations 



452 OLD residents' historical association. 



are extended to other societies of a like nature to meet in 
Dedham. and in every way the public is kept interested 
in the society as a live, local institution. 

It must not be supposed, however, that all historical 
societies are equally prosperous. Unless supporte I by 
public interest and the active work of its members, such a 
society will fail to accomplish the })urj)ose of its organiza- 
tion, and sink into a moribund condition. The Dorchester 
Anti(piarian and Historical Society, incorporated by 
special act in liS55. after doing some very good work, as 
shown l)y its published volumes relating to Dorchester, 
has now been reduced to a membershi[) of two. and the 
Dorchester Historical Society, incorporated in lSf)l, is 
occupying the field it once filled so well. The Ca])e Ann 
Historical Society, of Gloucester, has reached a somewhat 
simihir condition. It has no rooms, and what pro[)ert\ it 
possesses is stored in a building away from the business 
center of the city, although some of its nautical collections 
were sent as exliibits to the Pan-American Exposition at 
Buffalo. The treasurer informs the committee that there 
seems to be no interest taken in the affairs of the society. 
Probably this is due in part to the comparatively isolated 
position of the towai. but lack of public interest is neces- 
sarily fatal to the success of sucii an association. 

It is to be observed that all or nearly all of the 
societies which have been referred to in this re[)ort are 
incorporated either by special act or under general laws. 

It is not necessary to point out at length the objec- 
tionable features of a voluntary association, or the advan- 
tages of corporate existence. The former may, to a 
certain extent, be ol)viated by carefully drawn articles of 
association and by-laws, but it still remains a nondescript 
organization, possessing many attributes of a co-partnership, 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE OX BY-LAWS. 453 

with possible individual liability of the members for 
the debts of the association and for the acts of .their 
agents. The title to its property is vested in the mem- 
bers, and their remedies arc more frequently in equity 
than in law. No great degree of permanency attaches to 
such an association, and upon its dissolution its posses- 
sions become the property of the survivor or survivors, in 
the absence of any agreement to the contrary. A corpo- 
ration is a creature of the law. entitled to its protection 
and subject to its requirements. No liability ordinarily 
attaches to its members, the title to its property is in the 
corporation, and its corporate existence, subject to legal 
dissolution, is perpetual. 

Your committee believe that incorporation is far 
preferable to continuance as a voluntary association. 

If it shall be decided to incorporate our association, 
it will be necessary to decide upon a corporate name ; and 
while tlie name *• (^Id Residents' Historical Association," 
or •• The Old Residents," as it is more commonly called, 
was originally appropriate and possesses sentimental 
value, its continued use is misleading, and to a cer- 
tain extent detrimental to progress as an •• Historical 
Association." 

The particular purposes for which the Association 
was oro-anized. bv the men who were resident liere in 
lSo6 or prior to that date, have been accomplished, and 
their recollections and reminiscences of the early days of 
the town have been embodied in the volumes ah-eady 
published by the Association. 

Our by-laws as amended are sufficiently broad to 
enable all who would be interested in a local historical 
society to become members. 



454 OLD KESIDENTS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



To many, however, the present name of the Asso- 
ciation is objectionable because it impHes age in its mem- 
bers, and as such belief, whether justified or not, exists, 
and will i)robably continue to exist, it would be well, in 
the opinion of your committee, to select some name 
descriptive of the purposes of the society and more general 
in its application. It will be observed that the name in. 
general use is the name of the town coupled with the 
words " historical society." In several instances, however, 
the name is more specific where it is desired to perpetuate 
some particular name or locality, as the " Rumford His- 
torical Association " of Woburn ; the " Historical Society 
of Old Newburv ; " the " \yebster Historical Societv " of 
Marshfield, now extinct, and the " Oak Tree Association '' 
of Charlemont ; and frequently the name indicates a 
broader scope, as the " American Antiquarian Society " 
of Worcester ; the •• Cape Cod Historical Society " of Yar- 
mouth ; the •' Connecticut Valley Historical Society " of 
Springfield ; the " Old Colony Historical Society " of 
Taunton ; and the '' Worcester County Historical Society " 
of Worcester, also extinct. 

But whatever the name of the society, and whether 
incorporated or a mere voluntary association, it is the 
belief of your committee that some means should be 
adopted to bring it more in touch with the public and to 
make it more entitled to its support. 

As has been stated, this Association has the free use 
of a room in the Memorial Building, but its occupation 
is not exclusive, as other societies share its occupancy, 
and its collections are in different parts of the building, 
not readily accessible, and not catalogued. A visitor in 
the citv would have no means of knowino^ of the existence 
of the Association except by searching the city directory. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BY-LAWS. 455 



and even then onr collections would not be accessible to 
him. In order to make our Association an institution of 
this city and known to its citizens, it seems to your com- 
mittee that some different arrangement should be made, 
and that the Association should be brought more prom- 
inently before the public. The Lynn Historical Society 
seems to occupy a field somewhat similar to ours, in that 
it is supported in a manufacturing city of comparatively 
recent growth and with a changing population. Possess- 
ing no building of its own, it does not depend upon the 
courtesy of the city for its quarters, but shows its pro- 
gressiveness and self-reliance by leasing rooms suitable 
for its purposes in a most ])ublic location, as has been 
described. 

Your connnittee have given the matter of location 
and suitable rooms some consideration. Tliev disclaim 
any intention of criticising the present quarters occu]ned 
by the Association, their belief being that they are 
inadequate for our needs if the Association and its 
library and collections are to be of value and i)ractical use 
to the members and the public. The ^lemorial Building 
is eminently appropriate as a location for a society so 
closely connected with the history of the city as is this 
Association, and if we could have the exclusive occupa- 
tion of rooms in this building so that they could be 
furnished and our collections brought together in them 
and made accessible and safe, such quarters would be 
sufficient for our present needs. The piu-pose of the 
committee is to bring before the Association the considera- 
tion of the question whether our present location and 
accommodations and the methods of conducting the Asso- 
ciation, are best calculated to produce growth and future 
development and to arouse popular interest in its welfare. 



456 OLD residents' historical association. 



From their examination of the condition of our 
Association and of the history and present status of other 
historical societies, as briefly outlined in this report, your 
committee have reached the following conclusions : — 

That a society of this kind, unless sufficiently 
endowed, must rely upon public interest in its work, and 
upon popular support ; 

That in order to reach the public it must occupy a 
prominent position among- the institutions of the city, and 
be in touch with the people ; 

That it must ins[)ire confidence in its purposes and 
belief in its permanency as such an institution. 

If the Association can inspire confldence in its pur- 
poses and belief in its permanency and success, it will 
undoubtedly become the proper custodian, by gift and 
bequest, of many articles of historic value and interest, 
and perhaps, if worthy of the trust, the recipient of gifts 
and bequests of a more substantial nature. 

The Dedham Historical Society received its fine 
building by gift, after it had proved its usefulness to the 
community. 

The ^Vorcester Society of Antiquity, which has 
always been remarkably active and successful, received the 
land on which its building stands and liberal contributions 
toward its construction from the president of its rival, the 
American Antiquarian Society. In its building is a flne 
hall called " Salisbury Hall,"' after the Society's benefactor, 
and at the dedication of this hall Mr. Salisbury said : — 
" This Society started without endowment, nucleus, or 
properties which would serve as an inducement for wider 
exertion. Its possessions are almost entirely the result of 
the unaided devotion of its members to the purposes and 



REPORl" OF COMMITTEE ON TU'-L.UVS. 457 



objects of their organization. How stable and satisfactory 
has been each step of progress nnder snch conditions is 
demonstrated by the rapid growth and development of the 
Association." 

The Worcester Society, by the activity and zeal of 
its members, has only realized for itself the fulfillment of 
the hopes and wishes of the founder of our Association in 
our behalf, as set forth in the closing lines of his Sketch 
of the Origin and History of the Old Residents' Historical 
Association before referred to : — '• Is there not." he says, 
" in this organization the germ of a historical society in 
Lowell which shall, eventually, have ownership in a sub- 
stantial edifice bearing its name, with halls for its meetings, 
and for public use. apartments for its library, and ample 
room for its historic, literary, and art accumulations, and 
which shall, likewise, be an honor and an ornament to 
our fair city ? " 

An historical society in Lowell ought to be as success- 
ful as like societies in Lynn, or Dedham, or Worcester, if 
given like earnest support by its members and the public. 

As a step toward such result, your committee believe 
that incorporation under an appropriate name, and the 
occupation of commodious quarters, where our library and 
collections, properly catalogued, may be readily accessible, 
are essential, and so report. 

ALFRED P. SAWYER, 
FREDERICK LAWTON, 
ALBERT L. BACHELLER, 

Committee. 
Lowell, Mass., November 23, 1901. 



458 OLD residents' historical ASSOCIATIO^'. 

The foregoing report was accepted,' and it was voted 
to incorporate The Old Residents' Historical Association 
of Lowell under the name of the Lowell Historical 
Society, and the committee api)ointed at this meeting to 
prepare for incorporation reported as follows at a meet- 
ing of the Association held April 24, 1902. 

To The Old Hesidents Historical AssociaHon of Lowell : — 

Your committee appointed to prepare for incorpora- 
tion of the Association under an a})propriate name, and 
to submit a draft of by-laws for such proposed cor])o- 
ration, beg leave to report that they deem it advisable to 
incorporate in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 
125 of the Revised Laws of this Commonwealth, under 
the name of the Lowell Historical Society, and herewith 
submit the draft of by-laws accompanying this report as 
suitable by-laws for the proposed corporation. 

ALFRED P. SAWYER, 

Chairman. 



BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



LOWELL HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



ARTICLE I. 

XAJ[E AND PUEPOSTC. 



The Lowell Historical Society is formed for the puri)ose of 
collecting and preserving books, niannscripts, records, and objects 
of antiquarian and historical interest; of encouraging the study 
of local history; of maintaining a hbrary ; and of publishing 
from time to time whatever may illustrate and perpetuate the 
history of Lowell and adjacent towns. 

ARTICLE 11. 

TITLE TO PROPERTY. 

Section 1. All books, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, 
magazines, and pamphlets; all pictures, paintings, and works 
of art; all relics and other objects of antiquarian and historical 
interest received by this corporation (excepting such articles as 
may be loaned to it) shall be received and held by it upon this 
trust and confidence, that in the event of its membership being 
reduced to five, or in the event of its dissolution, such of its 
personal property as above described shall in either of said events 
become the property of the City of Lowell, to be by it preserved 
in its Public Library or other suitable building ; provided, how- 
ever, if said city shall not so accept said property, this corporation 
may, for the purpose of dissolution, by the vote of three-fourths 
of its members, assign, transfer, and convey said property so 
received and held by it to some other historical society in said 



460 OLD residents' historical association. 



Lowell, or within the C'oiniiionwealth of Massachusetts, l)y which 
said property may l)e preserved for the benefit of the public ; and 
provided, further, that the lil)rarian, by the authorization of the 
executive comndttee, may from time to time exchange or sell any 
duplicate co})ies of such books, maps, newspapers, magazines, and 
pamphlets of this Society, which may come into its possession, 
and any personal property not appropriate to its library or cal)inet. 
Sp:ct. 2. All books, records, papers, and vouchers, used 
and received l)y any oflticer of this Society in connection with its 
affairs, shall be and remain the property of the Society, and be 
delivered to his successor in ottice. 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBEESniP. 

Section 1. The Society shall be composed of resident, life, 
corresponding, and honorary members. Ilesident and life mem- 
bers only shall be eligible for ottice, or be entitled to vote, or to 
take part in the Inisiness of the Society. 

Sect. 2. Any ])erson, male or female, twenty-one years 
of age, resident in Lowell or in the adjacent towns of Billerica, 
Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, or 
Westford, may become a resident member of this Society. 

Sect. 3. Application for membership) in this Society shall 
be made in writing, accomjjanied ^^ith the admission fee, 
and referred to the executive committee ; if approved by a 
majority of said connnittee, election shall be by ballot at any 
meeting of the Society. 

Sect. 4. If any })erson elected a resident member shall 
neglect for three months, and if any person elected an honorary 
or corresponding member shall neglect for six months after noti- 
fication of his election, to accept his membership in writing, such 
election shall be void. 

Sect. 5. All members of The Old Residents' Historical 
Association of Lowell are hereby declared to be members of this 
Society, provided they shall suljscribe or assent in A^■riting to 
these by-laws before July 1, 1902. 



BY-LAWS. 461 



ARTICLE lY 



FEKS AND Dl'KS. 



Sectiox 1. Eaeli resident member shall pay two dollars into 
the treasury at the time of his admission, and two dollars as 
annual dues on the lirst day of each July followini;' one year from 
the date of liis admissio]i. 

Skct. '2. If sueh member shall pay into the treasui'y fifty 
dollars in addition to his previous payments, he shall thereby 
become a life mendjer and l)e thereafter exempted from the pay- 
ment of annual dues. 

Sect. 3. All receipts from life-membershij) payments shall 
be invested and held as a fund, and the income only thereof be 
used for the general purposes of the Societ}'. 



ARTICLE y. 

WITIIDRAWAI. Fi:o>r MEMBERSHir. 

Section 1. .Vny member may witlidraw from the Society 
at any time, by sending his written resignation to the recording 
secretarA% and paying all dues. 

Sect. 2. Any member may l)e expelled for non-payment of 
dues, or for any other cause, at any meeting of the Society, u])on 
the recommendation of the executive committee by a three-fourths 
vote of its members, ten days' notice in writing of such meeting 
and its purpose having been first given to such member. 



ARTICLE A^I. 

mi:etings and quorum. 

Section 1. Regular meetings of the Society shall beheld in 
its rooms on the second Wednesdays of February, May, October 
and December of each year at 7.30 o'clock i-. m. 



46'2 OLD residents' historical association. 



Sect. li. The regular meeting- in February of each year 
shall lie the annual meeting of the corporation, for the election of 
officers and the transaction of any other business which may 
legally C(ime before it. 

Sect. 8. Special meetings of the Society shall be called by 
the recording secretary, or in case of his absence or inability, 
liy the corresponding secretary, at the request of the president, 
or of the executive committee, or at the written request of not 
less than five members of the Society. 

Sect. 4. Written or printed notice of all meetings shall be 
sent by mail by tlie secretary to all resident and life members of 
the Society five days at least before the meeting, which notice 
shall briefly state the business to come before the meeting. 

' Sect. 5. Nine mend)ers shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of l)usiness, but a less number may adjourn. 

aetic'Lp: vtt. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

At all meetings of the Society the order of lousiness shall be 
as follo^^•s, unless otherwise ordered : — 

First. Reading of the records of the preceding meeting. 

Second. The report of the corresponding secretary. 

Third. The report of the treasurer. 

Fourth. The report of the librarian. 

Fifth. The report of the executive committee. 

Sixth. The election of members from applicants approved 
l)y the executive committee. 

Seventh. At the animal meeting, the election of officers and 
action on matters included in the call for the meeting. 

Eighth. At special meetings, action on matters included in 
call for the meeting. 

Ninth. The reading of ^lapers. 

Tenth. The unfinished business and the assignments of the 
last meeting, taken uj* in their order, and the transaction of other 
business. 



BY-LAWS. 463 



AllTR'LE VIII. 



OFFIOEKS. 



Seotiox 1. The officers of tlie Society shall be a president, 
a vice-president, a recordiiit;' secretary, wlio shall be the clerk of 
the corporation, a corresponding secretary, a treasnrer, and a 
librarian, all of whom shall be elected l)y ballot at the annual 
meeting, and shall hold their respective offices for one year and 
until others are elected in their stead. 

Sect. 2. The foregoing officers, \\'\ih six other mend)ers to 
be elected by ballot at the aiimial meeting for the term of one 
year, shall constitute the executive committee of the Society. 
The })resident shall l)e the chairman, and the recording secretary 
shall be the clerk, of the executive committee, and each member 
of the committee shall be entitled to one vote. The eldest in 
point of service of said six mend)ers of the executive committee 
shall not be eligible for re-election until the expiration of one 
year, at least, after the expiration of his term. 

Sect. 3. A'acancies in said offices or in the executive com- 
mittee shall be tilled by election by ballot for the unexpired term, 
at the regular meeting next following the occurrence of such 
vacancy, or at a special meeting called for that purpose, but 
vacancies in said offices may be tilled tempoi'arily Ijy the execu- 
tive committee until such election. 

Se( T. 4. Innuediately after the adoption of these by-laws 
the above officers and members of the executive committee shall 
be elected by ballot, and shall hold their respective offices until 
the annual ineeting on the second Wednesday of February, 1903, 
and until others are elected in their stead. 



AiniCLE IX. 

THE PKESIDEXT. 

The president sliall he the chief executive officer of the 
Society. He shall preside at all its meetings and at those of the 



4G4 OLD residents' historical association. 



executive eomiiiittee, and sliall exercise a licueral supervision of 
the Society's alt'airs, sul)ject to the directions of the executive 
comniittee. 

In the absence of the i)resideut the vice-president shall 
l)rcside. 



ARTICLE X. 

THE ];i:< (tKJ)JX(i SECKKTAKY. 

Se< TioN 1. 'I'he recording secretary, oi' in case of his absence 
or inability, the corresponding secretary, shall call all meetings 
of the tSociety and of the executive comniittee as herein provided. 

Sect. '2. He shall attend all meetings of the Society and of 
the executive committee, and shall kec}) an exact record of the 
same. 

Sect. 8. In the absence of the president and of the vice- 
president, he shall, if i)resent, call the meeting to order and 
preside until a president or chairman pro tempore is chosen. 

Sect. 4. He shall keep a correct I'ccord of the names and 
addresses of all members, alphabetically arranged, in a book kept 
for that piu'pose. 

AKTK LE XT. 

THE < ORKESrOXDIXG SECKETAUV. 

Section 1. The corresponding secretary shall notify all 
persons of their election as members, and send to each a copy of 
the by-laws. 

Sect. 2. He shall conduct all correspondence of the Society 
not otherwise provided for, and shall preserve all letters received 
and copies of all letters sent. 

Sect. o. He shall read at every regular meeting the com- 
munications he has received since the last meeting. 



BY-LAWS. 



465 



ARTICLE Xll. 



Till-: 1 i;i:AsrK?:R. 



Skctiox 1. The treasurer shall eolleet and receive all money 
(hie to the Society, and he the custodian of its funds, lie shall 
pay all hills which have heen first approved in Avritin.sj; hy the 
executive committee, and shall keep full and regular books of 
account which Avith his vouchers and invested funds, shall at all 
times he open to the inspection of the executive conunittee. 
At the annual meeting he shall submit a written report of all his 
doings for the i)receding year and of the financial condition of the 
Society, but no re])ort of the treasurer shall be received which 
has not been api)roved by the auditor appointed by the executive 
committee. 

Skct. -I. When required to do so, he shall give Ixmds to 
the satisfaction of the executive conunittee for the faithful per- 
formance of the duties of his office. 



ARTICLE XIIL 

THK LHUIARIAX. 

Sectiox 1. The lilirarian shall have charge of all the 
property of this Society mentioned, described, and referred to 
in article second of these by-hnvs. 

Sect. ± He shall pro])erly arrange ajid keep said i)roperty 
in such place as may be designated by the executive committee, 
and shall cause a catalogue thereof to l)e made, which he shall 
revise and correct from time to time as occasion demands. 

Si:( T. o. No book or other article in the custody of the 
librarian shall under any circumstances be loaned or removed 
from the rooms of the Society, and he shall be held accountable 
for the safe-keei)ing of the property in his custody. 

Si;( T. 4. He shall acknowledge every gift which may be 
made to the Society for its library or cabinets, and shall at all 
times do whatever is in his })ower to increas- and preserve the 
collections in his care. 



466 OLD residents' historical association. 



Sect. 5. At the regular meetings he shall report all acces- 
sions made to the property in his charge since the last meeting 
and sliall re})ort at tlie annnal meeting n})on the condition and 
needs of the library, and sliall fnridsh a detailed list of all gifts 
received dnring the year and the names of the donors. 

Sect. G. lie may have an assistant, ai)pointed hy the execn- 
tive conimittee, who shall aid him and the other officers of the 
Society in the performance of their duties, who shall receive such 
compensation therefor as the executive committee may determine- 

ARTICLE XIV. 

THE EXECUTIVE COJIMITTEE. 

Sectiox 1. The executive committee shall superintend and 
conduct the prudential and executive business of the corpora- 
tion ; establish rules for the transaction of their o^^■n business ; 
receive and report to the Society all applications, resignations, 
and forfeitures, Avitli a statenu'ut of their recommendations 
thereon ; provide all printed forms and l)ooks of record; appoint 
such sul)or(linate officers or agents as they deem necessary; 
make all rules and regulations for the use of the library and 
rooms of the Society ; and see that the l)y-laws are complied 
with. 

Sect. 2. They may animally n])on organization, appoint for 
a term not exceeding their year of office, and prescribe the func- 
tions of, such committees of their number, or of the members of 
tlie Society, as they may deem expedient to facilitate the admin- 
istration of the Society's affairs. They shall so appoint a finance 
conunittee ; a committee of the library ; and a connnittee of mem- 
bership. 

Sect. 8. Tliey shall report at every meeting of the Society, 
such business as they may deem it advisal)le to present, and at 
every annual meeting they shall present a detailed report of the 
affairs and condition of the Society since the last annual meeting. 

Sect. 4. They shall kec}) exact records of all their meet- 
ings, which shall always be oiien to the inspection of any memlier 
of the Societv. 



BY-LAWS. 



467 



Aim CLE x^^ 

THE COKl'OL'A I !•: SEAL. 

The seal of the eorporalion shall l)i' a ciiclr with the words 

"Lowell Historieal Soeiety " eiielosint;' the \\(ir(ls "Tncdiiiorated 

19(»-2," and may be impressed u]i(iii any instrnnicnt by the proper 

offieer of the Soeiety. It shall 1>(' in the eustody of the reeording 

seeretary. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

AMEXDMENTS. 

Seotiox 1. No alteration shall l)e made in artiele two of 
these by-laws. 

Sect. '1. Any other artiele of the by-laws may be altered, 
amended, or repealed, at any meeting of the Soeiety by vote of 
two-thirds of its members present and voting ; provided, a written 
recommendation of sneh ehange, signed by at least five members 
shall have Ijeeii given at a previous meeting, and entered on the 
records, and the proposed alteration, amendment, or repeal is 
inserted in the call for the meeting. 



Acceptance of By -Lairs and Certificate of 
Incorporation, May 10, 1902. 



The subscribers to the agreement of association met 
May 10. 1902, and perfected their organization, adopting 
the foregoing by-laws, and the certificate of incorporation 
of the Lowell Historical Society was issued by the Secretary 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts May '21, 1902. 

The committee appointed to catalogue the library and 
other property of the association submitted its report, 
giving an itemized and alphabetical list of its books, 
papers, pamphlets and other property, and these were 
formally transferred to the Lowell Historical Society in 
accordance with and upon the terms of the following vote 
passed May 28, 1902:— 

•' That all property owned by The Old Residents' 
Historical dissociation of Lowell be transferred, conveyed, 
paid over, and delivered to the Lowell Historical Society, 
a body corporate, located at Lowell, in the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts, as the successor of said Old Residents' 
Historical Association of Lowell, but upon and subject to 
the following exceptions, trusts, and conditions: — 

"1. That the treasurer of this Association shall from 
the money in his possession fiist pay all its outstanding 
indebtedness, and shall reserve a sum sufficient to pay for 
the preparation and publication of any remaining volume 
or volumes of the -Contributions' of this Association, and 
then pay over the balance of its money to said Lowell 
Historical Societv. 



INCORPORATION. 469 



" 2. That all books, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, 
magazines and pamphlets, all pictures, paintings, and 
works of art, all relics and other objects of antiqua- 
rian and historical interest, excepting duplicate copies of 
said books, maps, newspapers, magazines and pamphlets, 
shall be held by said Lowell Historical Society, and its 
successors and assigns, upon the trust and confidence set 
forth in section one of article two of its by-laws, namely, 
that in the event of the membership of the said Lowell 
Historical Society being reduced to five, or in the event of 
its dissolution, the personal ]:)roperty herein specifically 
described, and so transferred and conveyed to it, shall in 
either of said events become the property of the City of 
Lowell, to be by it preserved in its Public Library or 
other suitable building; but if said city shall not so accept 
said property, the said Lowell Historical Society may. for 
the purpose of dissolution, by vote of three-fourths of its 
members, assign, transfer and convey said property to 
some other historical society in said Lowell, or within said 
Commonwealth, by which said property may be preserved 
for the benefit of the public. 

''3. That said duplicate copies of said books, maps, 
newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, and any other 
personal property excepting said manuscripts, pictures, 
paintings, works of art, relics, and other objects of anti- 
quarian and historical interest hereby transferred and con- 
veyed, which may not be appropriate for the library or 
cabinets of said Lowell Historical Society, may be sold or 
exchanged by it. as provided in said article two of its 
by-laws; and that the president and treasurer of this 
Association are hereby authorized and empowered in the 
name of this Association to transfer, convey, pay over and 
deliver all said property of The Old Residents* Historical 



470 OLD residents' historical association. 



Association of Lowell to the said Lowell Historical Society 
in accordance with this vote and upon and subject to the 
exceptions, trusts, and conditions herein contained, and to 
execute and deliver in behalf of this Association all proper 
and sufRcient instruments in writing therefor." 

The present volume completes the series of the 
"Contributions" issued by The Old Hesidents' Historical 
Association of Lowell. 



VII. Table of Contents. Contvihutions to the 
Old Residents' Historical Association. Vols. 
I— VI. Bein^ the Entire Series. 



Abbott, Hon. Josiah G., LL. D. Memoir of. 

Charles Cowley, LL. D 

Address before G. A. R. Rev. A. St. John 

Chambre 

Allen, Nathan, M. D., LL. D., Life of. Dr. D. 

N. Patterson 

Alvan Clark, Autobiography of, and Letter by 

Chief Justice Wm. A. Richardson 

American Venice. James Bayles 

Annual Address. Dr. John O. Green 

Annual Addresses. 1873-1884. Dr. John O. 

Green 

Annual Report. 1885. Dr. John O. Green 

Annual Reports. 1 888-1 889. C. C. Chase 

Annual Report. 1890. C. C. Chase 

Annual Report. 1891. Benj. Walker 

Annual Report. 1892. Benj. Walker 

Annual Report. 1893. Benj. Walker 

Annual Report. 1804. Benj. Walker 

Annual Report. 1895. Benj. Walker 

Annual Report. 1896. S. W. Stevens, Esq. . . 
Annual Report. 1897. S. W. Stevens, Esq. . . 
Annual Report. i8g8. S. W. Stevens, Esq... 
Annual Report. 1899. S. W. Stevens, Esq. . . 
Annual Report. 1900. S. W. Stevens, Esq. . . 
Annual Report. 1901. S. W. Stevens, Esq. . . 
Annual Report. 1902. S. W. Stevens, Esq .. . 

Ayer, James H. B., Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Bancroft, Jefferson, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Banks (Discount) of Lowell. Charles Hovey... 
Bartlett, Elisha, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D . . . 
Bartlett, J. C, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D . . . . 



Vol. 


Page. 


V 


I 


III 


381 


IV 


151 


IV 


164 


IV 


182 


I 


7 


III 


73 


III 


212 


IV 


113 


IV 


282 


IV 


359 


V 


147 


V 


243 


VI 


7 


VI 


75 


VI 


257 


VI 


165 


VI 


266 


VI 


1>2^ 


VI 


335 


VI 


355 


VI 


362 


I 


^54 


I 


147 


III 


258 


II 


361 


II 


371 



472 OLD residents' historical association. 



Vol. 


Page. 


Ill 


394 


III 


187 


I 


10 


VI 


46 



Bartlett, Hon. Homer, Life and Character of. 

J. S. Russell 

Batchelder, Rev. Samuel. Rev. W. R. liignell. 
Batchelder, Samuel, Letters by, to Rev. Dr. 

Edson 

Before the Power Loom. Z. E. Stone 

Bells, Chime of, in St. Anne's Church. Eirst 

Ringing, etc. Benj. Walker Ill 47 

Blanchard, Rev. Amos. D. D. D. N. Patterson, 

M. D 

Boott, Kirk. Theodore Edson, D. D 

Boott, Kirk, Life of. Alfred Oilman 

Boott, Kirk. His Experiences in the British 

Army. James B. P'rancis 

Boott, Kirk, letter from Dr. John O. Green to. 

Rev. Theodore Edson, D. D 

Bradley, Drs. Amos and Peleg. D. N. Pat- 
terson, M. D 

Bradt, James G., M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Bridge, Central, History of. Alfred Gil man. 
Bridge, Pawtucket. How Built and Owned. J. 

S. Russell 

Brown, Abner H., M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Brown, Jonathan, M. D. D. X. Patterson, M. D. 
Butterfield, John, M. D. D. X. Patterson, M. D. 
Buttrick, Abner W., M. D. D. N. Patterson, 

M.D 

Burnham, Walter, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Burns Celebration in Lowell. H. M. Ordway.. 

ByT.aws, Report of Committee on 

By-Laws, Lowell Historical Societ) 

Calvin, Thomas, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 

Canal, Middlesex. Benj. Walker 

Carpet Weaving and Lowell Mfg. Co. Samuel 

I^'ay I 52 

Campbell, Patrick P., M. D. D. X. Patterson, 

M. 1> II 430 

Central Bridge, History of. Alfred Gilman . . . . II 295 



HI 


169 


I 


87 


II 


3 


III 


325 


IV 


no 


II 


340 


II 


437 


II 


295 


IV 


I 


II 


427 


II 


406 


II 


426 


II 


438 


II 


445 


in 


42 


VI 


446 


VI 


468 


II 


386 


HI 


273 



TABLE OF CONTEISTS OF THE SERIES. 473 



Charities, Organized, of Lowell. Charles Hovey. 

Cheney, Cleveland J., Sketch of. James Francis. 

Chelmsford Girl, A, of Two Hundred Years Ago. 
Ephraim Brown 

Chime of Bells in St. Anne's Church. l?enj. 
Walker 

Clark, Alvan, Autobiography of, and Letter by 
Hon. Wm. A. Richardson 

Clark, John. John VV. Smith 

Colonies, Foreign, of Lowell. Charles Cowley.. 

Colburn, Warren, Reminiscences of. ( Boston 
Transcript ) 

Concord and Lexington, 1775. Ephraim Brown. 

Constitution of The Old Residents' Historical 
Association of Lowell 

Cook, James, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Corresponding Members, Responses from 

Cotton and Woolen Lidustries at East Chelms- 
ford ( now Lowell ). Z. E. Stone VI 46 

Court, Rev. Robert, D. D. Charles Cowley, 
LL. D 

Crosby, Josiah, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D . . 

Cruise of Monitor Lehigh. Charles Cowley. . . . 

Daguerreotype, Telegraph, Telephone and, Litro- 
duction of, into Lowell. Z. E. Stone 

Dalton, Dr. John C. D. N. Patterson, M. D 

Dana, S. L., M. D., LL. D., Memoir of. John O. 

Green _ I 265 

Death Record of Old Residents" Historical Asso- 
ciation 

Dickey, Hanover, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 

Discount Banks of Lowell. Charles Hovey. . . . 

Drama in Lowell, and Sketch of Perez Fuller. 
H. M. Qrdway 

Dummer, John, Biography of. James S. Russell. 

Early Recollections of an Old Resident. Hon. 

J. B. French I 252 



Vol. 


Page. 


HI 


13 


VI 


113 


IV 


34 


HI 


47 


IV 


164 


II 


213 


II 


165 


IV 


179 


VI 


19 


I 


5 


I 


164 


II 


319 



\Jl 


207 


II 


380 


II 


61 


V 


165 


II 


409 



V 


372 


II 


421 


III 


258 


II 


268 


II 


92 



474 OLD residents' historical association. 



Vol. Page. 

East Chelmsford (now Lowell), Families Living 

in, 1802 I 275 

Edson, Rev. Theodore, S. T. D. Resolutions of 

O. R. H. A Ill 25 

Edson, Rev. Theodore, S. T. D., Memoir of. 

Miss E. M. Edson IV 202 

Edson, Rev. Theodore. Centennial Tribute. 

Rev. Edward Cowley, D. D V 267 

Eliot, Rev. John Work at Wamesit. Charles 

Cowley, LL. D VI 220 

Eliot, Rev. John, Fassaconaway, Wannalancet, 

and Capt. Samuel Moseley. A. Oilman.... Ill 90 

Folks at the Neck (now Lowell), in ye Olden 

Time. H. S. Perham 

Folsom, Jonathan P., Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Ford, Capt. John. C. C. Chase. . . .• 

Fox, Capt. G.\^, in Civil War. A. Oilman 

Francis, James 13., Life and Works of. W. E. 

Worthen 

Fragment, 1843. Rev. Theodore Edson 

Freshets in Merrimack River, Oreat. J. B. 

Francis 

Freshet of 183 1. A. Oilman 

French, Josiah B., Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Gage, Daniel P., M. D. D.N. Patterson, M. D . . 
Geological Explorations. Rev. Owen Street, 

D. D 

Geology, Our Local. Harriette Rac 

Glass-Making in Merrimack Basin. E. Brown. . 

Glidden, Elisha. Hon. John A. Knowles 

Grants, Early, of Land in the Wilderness North 

of the Merrimack. Geo. A. Gordon 

Graves, John W., M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Graves, William, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Green, Benj. Biography of. Rev. Lewis Green. 

Green, Dr. John O., Autobiography of 

Hale, Moses. A. Oilman 

Health of Lowell. Dr. Nathan Allen 



VI 


234 


I 


177 


IV 


326 


II 


33 


V 


227 


I 


249 


III 


252 


III 


270 


I 


151 


II 


431 


IV 


60 


VI 


33 


II 


180 


II 


289 


V 


83 


II 


418 


n/ 


417 


I 


42 


III 


217 


I 


243 


[II 


145 



TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE SEKIES. 



475 



Vol. 


I'age. 


II 


333 


III 


113 


IV 


193 


II 


445 


I 


168 


II 


352 



II 



345 



Hildreth, Israel, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
High School, Reminiscences of. C. C. Chase. . 
Hovey, Charles, Memento of. J. S. Russell. . . . 
Holt, Daniel, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D . . . . 

Hosford, Hocum, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Howe, Zadok, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. . . 
Huntington, Elisha, M. D. D. N. Patterson, 

M.D 

Illustrations, List of, in Contributions to 

O. R. H. A 

Insurance in Lowell. J. K. Fellows 

Jackson, General, in Lowell. Z. P2. Stone 

Jackson, Patrick T. Hon. John A. Lowell 

Jewett, Jeremiah P., M.D. D. N. Patterson, 

M.D 

Jewett, Francis, JMayor. Z. E. Stone 

Kimball, Dr. Oilman, Memoir of. Dr. D. N. 

Patterson 

Kittredge, Henry, M. D. D. N. Patterson 

Knapp, Daniel, Autobiography of 

Knowles, John A., Sketch of. J. K. Fellows. . . 

Lafayette in New England 

Lawrence, Luther, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Lawrence, Samuel, Three Letters by 

Lawrence, Ambrose, Mayor. Z. P2. Stone. ... 
Lehigh, Monitor, Cruise of. Chas. Cowley .... 

Lewis, Joel, Reminiscences of. J. Merrill 

Livermore, Edward St. Low. C. L. A 

Livermore, Harriet. C. C. Chase 

Livingston, William. Hon. J. B. French 

Lives of Postmasters. C. C. Chase 

Local Musical Society of 1824. S. W. Stevens, 

Esq 

Lock^, Hon. Joseph, Life of. Hon. J. A. Knowles 
Locke, Mrs. J. Ermina, Memoir of. Grace 

LeBaron Upham 

Lowell and Harvard College. Dr. John O. Green 
Lowell and Monadnocks. No. i. E.Brown... 



VI 


480 


II 


133 


I 


105 


I 


189 


II 


425 


I 


183 


V 


254 


II 


402 


I 


69 


III 


375 


I 


135 


I 


140 


I 


285 


I 


159 


II 


61 


I 


62 


II 


74 


IV 


17 


I 


98 


IV 


128 


IV 


24 


I 


65 


IV 


259 


I 


229 


I 


292 



4:16 OLD residents' historical association. 



Lowell and Monacinocks. No. 2. E. Brown . . . 

Lowell and Nevvburyport. Thos. B. Lawson . . . 

Lowell Cemetery. J. S. Russell 

Lowell, Early Recollections of, Benj. Walker 

Lowell Fifty Years Ago. Paul Hill 

Lowell, Francis Cabot. A. Oilman 

Lowell, Francis Cabot. Note. Hon. John 
Amory Lowell 

Lowell Grammar Schools. A. Oilman 

Lowell, Health of. Dr. Nathan Allen 

Lowell High School. James S. Russell 

Lowell Historical Society, The. By-Laws, Re- 
port of Committee on 

Lowell in 1826. A. B. Wright 

Lowell in Navy During War. Charles Cowley, 
LL. D 

Lowell Listitutionsfor Savings. Geo. J. Carney. 

Lowell Island. A. Oilman 

Lowell, John Amory, Life of 

Lowell, Past, Present and P'uture of. Charles 
Hovey 

Lowell, Present Population of (1883). Nathan 
Allen, M. D 

Lowell, Recollections of, since 1831. Geo. 
Hedrick 

Mansur, Stephen, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Mack, Sewell G., Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Masonic Events, Early, in Lowell. Z. K. Zone. 

Mayors of Lowell, Biography of. Z. E. Stone. . 

Massachusetts Medical Society in Lowell. Dr. 
John O. Green 

Melvin Suits. Hon. John P. Robinson 

Merrimack River, Navigation on. Atkinson C. 



Varnum 

Merrimack River. Its Sources, Affluents, etc. 

A. Oilman 

IMiddlesex Mechanics' Association, Historical 

Sketch of. Hon. P^rederick Lawton 



Vol. 


Page. 


II 


180 


I 


2 12 


IV 


272 


IV 


^37 


V 


277 


I 


73 


I 


188 


IV 


«7 


III 


145 


II 


13 


VI 


446 


HI 


402 


\^ 


294 


I 


386 


IV 


338 


II 


109 


I 


373 


III 


20 


I 


J3J 


I 


162 


I 


156 


\^ 


223 


I 


^37 


II 


449 


II 


201 


I 


318 


II 


206 


VI 


279 



TABLE OF CONTEISTS OF THE SERIES. ^1:7 7 



Vol. Page. 

Moody, Paul. Rev. W. R. Bagnall HI 57 

Moseley, Captain Samuel, Sketch of. Alfred 

Oilman HI 107 

Mowe, Daniel, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D . . . II 423 

Nesmith, Thomas and John, Memoirs of. C. C. 

Chase Ill 365 

Newspaper Press of Lowell. A. Gilman II 233 

Old Residents' Historical Association. List of 

Members I 5 

Old Residents' Historical Association. List of 

Members H 7 

Old Residents' Historical Association. List of 

Officers I 4 

Old Residents' Historical Association. List of 

Officers \T 3, 351 

Old Residents' Historical Association. Origin 

and History for T\vent3'-fi\'e Years. Z E. 

Stone V 337 

Old Residents' Historical Association. Death 

Record, 1 868- 1 894 V 372 

Old Residents' Historical Association. Mem- 
bership January i, 1894 V 366 

Old Residents" Historical Association. Portraits, 

List of V 370 

Old Plrm, History of. Charles Hovey I 235 

Old Resident, Pearly Recollections of. Hon. J. 

B. French I 252 

Ordway, Thomas, Biographical Sketch of. Jas. 

K. Fellows 

Our Local Geology. Harriette Rea 

Papers from Chelmsford Records. Henry S. 

Perham 

Passaconaway, Sketch of. Alfred Gilman 

Pawtucket Bridge, How Built and Owned. Jas. 

S. Russell 

Pawtucket Falls. Hon. S. A. Green 

Parker, Hiram, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. . 
Parker, Willard, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 



II 


223 


\T 


33 


VI 


2S3 


HI 


98 


IV 


I 


V 


309 


II 


442 


II 


37S 



478 OLD RESIDE^TS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Vol. 


Page. 


I 


171 


II 


395 


II 


395 


III 


I 


II 


430 


IV 


370 


II 


329 


II 


396 


II 


400 


VI 


148 



Peabody, Josiah G., Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Peirce, Augustus, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Peirce, Augustus ¥., M. D. D. N. Patterson, 

M. D 

Peirce, Benj., Life of, Joshua Merrill 

Perham, Otis, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D 

Penhallow, Lucy E., Sketch of. Jas. S. Russell. 
Physicians of Lowell and Vicinity, Reminiscences 

of the P:arly. D. N. Patterson, M. D 

Pillsbury, Harlin, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 
Pillsbury, John D., M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 

Pooler, Deacon Seth. Jas. S. Russell 

Prominent Citizens of Lowell, 1826 to 1836, 

Biographical Sketches of. C. C. Chase.... IV 293 

Public Monuments of Lowell. Charles Cowley, 

LL. D 

Reminiscences of an ex-Postmaster. A. Oilman. 
Residences on Nesmith Street. Jas. S. Russell. 

Richardson, Hon. William A., Letter from 

Richardson, George F., Mayor. Z. E. Stone. . . 
Sachems of Merrimack Indians. Charles 

Cowley, LL.D 

Sanborn, Eben, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. . 

Sargeant, Benj. C, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Schools of Chelmsford, Early. H. S. Perham.. 
Schools and Teachers in Lowell Si.xty Years 

Ago, My. Rev^ Varnum Lincoln 

School District No. 5, My Connection with. 

Joshua Merrill, Esq 

Settlers of that Part of Chelmsford now Lowell. 

H. S. Perham 

Sericulture & India Rubber Manufacture. 

Charles Cowley, LL. D 

Shaw, Benj. F. An Outline. Ralph H. Shaw. . 
Sherman, Edward Fay, Mayor. Z. PI Stone. . . 
Skelton, Benj., M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. . 
St. Anne's Church. Dedication and First Ring- 
ing of Chime of Bells. Benj. Walker Ill 47 



VI 


96 


IV 


142 


IV 


352 


IV 


291 


I 


174 


VI 


376 


II 


435 


I 


166 


IV 


217 


V 


125 


I 


25 


V 


57 


III 


243 


V 


189 


I 


180 


II 


423 



TABLE OF C0NTE>;TS OF THE SERIES. 4:71) 



III 


159 


III 


309 


V 


159 


I 


186 


VI 


428 



Vol. Page. 

St. Anne's Church, Consecration of. J. O. 

Green, M. D 

St. Anne's Church, History of. Charles Hovey. 

St. Luke's Church. Jas. S. Russell 

Stott, Charles A., Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Stone, Zina E. Alfred P. Sawyer, Esq 

Street, Rev. Owen, D. D. Memorial Discourse 

Rev. J. M. Greene, D. D IV 43 

Telegraph, Telephone and Daguerreotype, Intro- 
duction of, into Lowell. Z. E. Stone 

Textile Fabrics, History of. Thos. B. Lawson . . 

Thompson, George, in Lowell. Z. E. Stone. . . . 

Trades of Lowell, Early. Charles Hovey 

Vox Populi. 1841-1896. Z. E. Stone 

Wamesit Purchase. Henry S. Perham 

Wannalancet, Sketch of. Alfred Gilman 

Waugh, John. Rev. Dr. P^dson 

Walker, Benj., Biographical Sketch of. S. W. 
Stevens, Esq 

Wells, David, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. . . 

Whiting, Henry, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 

Whistler, George W., C. E. George L. Vose. . . 

Willard Family, and Memoir of Augusta W. 
Dana. Horatio Wood 

Worthen, Ezra, Life of. W. R. Bagnall 

Wood, Horatio, Rev., Memoir of. ( By his 
Son ) 

Wyman Farm and its Owner. Charles Hovey. 

Wyman, Rufus, M. D. D. N. Patterson, M. D. 

Wright, Nathaniel, Mayor. Z. E. Stone 

Wright, Hapgood, Life of. Benj. Walker 



V 


165 


I 


305 


II 


I 12 


II 


152 


VI 


172 


VI 


125 


III 


lOI 


I 


18 


VI 


121 


II 


440 


II 


444 


HI 


334 


I 


337 


III 


33 


IV 


379 


II 


83 


II 


374 


I 


144 


VI 


15s 



VIII. A list of Illustrations Contained in the 
Six Yolmnes of Contributions to the Old 
Residents' Historical Association. 



John O. Green, M.D 

Patrick T. Jackson 

Samuel L. Dana, M.D .... 

Kirk Boott 

Monitor Lehigh 

John Amory Lowell 

John Clark 

Thomas Ordway 

Curb of Central Bridge 

John C. Dalton, M.D 

Samuel Batchelder 

Blodgett Mansion 

With wind and current. . . . 
Pushing against the current. 

Towpath on canal 

Lumber coming out of lock. 

Boat entering locks 

James B. P'rancis 

George W. Whistler 

Map of Lowell in 1826 

Charles Hovey 

Horatio Wood 

Josiah G. Abbott 

The Bowers Homestead . . . . 

Map of Danforth Plats 

Tray Table Rock 

Benjamin P". Shaw 

Rev. Theodore Edson 

Zina E. Stone 

Benjamin Walker 

Memorial Building 

Lowell City Hall 



Vol. 


Page. 


I 


7 


I 


189 


I 


265 


H 


3 


n 


63 


H 


109 


n 


213 


H 


223 


H 


318 


n 


409 


HI 


187 


HI 


292 


HI 


295 


HI 


296 


HI 


297 


HI 


298 


HI 


308 


HI 


325 


HI 


334 


HI 


428 


IV 


193 


IV 


379 


V 


I 


V 


^i 


V 


83 


V 


105 


V 


189 


V 


267 


V 


337 


VI 


75 


VI 


98 


VI 


105 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



481 



Monument, James C. Ayer 

Cleveland J. Cheney 

Rev. Robert Court 

John D. Hubbard 

Charles Cowley 

Eliot Church 

Log Meeting-house at W'amesii: 

Rev. John M. Green 

Parker Homestead 

Thankful (Pierce) Walker at 97 

Middlesex Mechanics Association' Building, 1898 

Mechanics Hall 

Mechanics Hall Librar}- 

Lowell as it was in 1674 



Vol. Pa<ro. 



VI 


no 


\T 


113 


VI 


207 


VI 


209 


VI 


220 


VI 


223 


VI : 


226-389 


VI 


230 


VI 


243 


VI 


251 


VI 


283 


VI 


299 


VI 


315 


VI 


391 



INDEX. 



Abbott. James C, 102. 

Abbott. Judge Josiah G.. lOtJ, 110, 174, 175, 

227. 
Abbott, Julian, SOS, ;i20. 
Abbott. Nehemiah, 244. 
Abenakis. 420, 421, 422, 42o. 
Adams, Samuel. 47. 
Adams, Sylvanus. 2i)4. 
Aggar, Letteye, 220. 
Allen, Alston, 170. 
Allen, Rev. Wilkes, 184, 147, 230, 235. 
Anderson. William 11., 370. 
Andrew, Gov., 97, its. 
Andros, Gov., U), 21. 
Appleton. Elizabeth H., 365. 
Appleton, Nathan, 0.5, 67. 
Associate UeCornied Pi-esbyteriau Church, 

20S. 
Auhery, Father, 423. 
Austin, Mr., 3.S.S. 
Austin, Mrs. Jane, 205. 
Aver, t'rederick, 81, 111, 228. 
Ayer, Frederick F., 100. 
Ayer, Dr. James C, 100, 111, 122. 273. 
Ayer, J. C. tt Co., 03, 274. 

Bacheller. Albert L., 351, 4.57. 

Bacheller, N. J. N.. 1,S4, 185, 202, 203, 430. 

Bachman, .Solomon, 53. 

Bacon, Horace .s., 351. 

Bailey, John A., ,S51, 424. 

Bailey, Joshua, 204. 

Baker, Rev. Smith, D. D., 102. 

Baldwin, S. C, 181. 

Ball, Abner,2!)4. 

Ball, H. W., 111. 

Bancroft, Hon. Jefferson, 63, LSO, 4.35. 

Bancroft. J. Franklin, 400. 

Banks, Gen., 330. 

Barbour, Charles, 71. 

Barbour, Deborah, 71. 

Barbour, Helen, 72. 

Barbour, Horace, 71. 

Barbour, Horace Jr., 71. 

Barker, Alfred 1)., 277. 

Barker, George F., 277. 

Barnard. I.., 149. 

Barnes, Henry H., 327. 

Barret. Lieut. John, 48. 

Barron, Jona, 240. 

Barron, Lieut. Jonathan, 241. 



Barron, Rebecca, 241. 

Barrows, Edward, ,53. 

Barrows, Thomas, ,53. 

Bartlett, Daniel B., 270. 

Bartlett, Dr. Elisha, 296. 

Bartlett, Dr. Josiah, 270. 

Bartlett. Homer, 291. 

Bartlett, Mis.s, 109. 

Barton, Prof., 42. 

Bates, Abigal, 247. 

Bates. Robert. 247. 

Baxter, Henry J., 290. 

Baj-ard, Ambassador, 232. 

Bean, Elizabeth 11., 11. 

Beard, Ithamar A., 180. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, 109, 211. 

Before the Power Loom, 46-74. 

Bell, Gov. Charles H., 280. 

Belvidere Woolen JNIill, .52-64. 

Banner, Burnham C, 343. 

Bennett, Hon. Janie.s W., 351, 360. 

Bennett, Wilder, 263. 

I^errian. Mr., 158. 

BIgelow, Miss Adeline, 403. 

Bigelow, Rev. E. Victor, 409. 

Billings, Thomas, 289, 294, 297, 298. 

Biograiihical Sketch of Vox Populi Man. 

agers, lSS-206. 
Blssell, Gov. William H., 194. 
Blaine, James G., 20. 
Blanchnrd, Rev. Amos, 179, 267. 
Blanchard, Luther, 26. 
Blazon, A. J., 424. 
Boardman, Langley A., 1.59. 
Bodge, Rev. George M., 424. 
Boott, John W., 6.5. 

Boott, Kirk, 11, 63, 65, 74, 105, 280, 296, 821. 
Rowers, James, 91. 
Bowers, Jerathmal, 1.30. 
Bowers, Jonathan, 91. 
Bradford, Gov. William, 270. 
Brndlaugh, Charles. 210. 
Bradlaugh, Thomas D., 109. 
Bradley, Isaac, .50. 
Bradley, Mrs., ,344. 
Bradley, Rev. Dr., .394. 
Bradley's Landing, 54. 
Braiistreet, Mrs. Anne, 383. 
Bradstreet,Gov. William, 121. 
Brash, Rev. John, 209. 
Brewster, Elder William, 121. 



INDEX. 



483 



Bridge, Rev. Ebenezer, 2;!6, 237, 244. 

Brlggs, Emerson, fiO. 

Brlgham, Elizabeth L., 839. 

Brooks, A. L. & Co., 372. 

Brooks, Gov. ,Iohn, 56. 

Brooks, Phillips, 216, 220. 

Brown, Al)l8hHl, 27. 

Brown, Amos, 2.-57. 

Brown, David, 2), 26. 

Brown, Eleazer, 13,"). 

Brown, Ephraua, li). 26, 30, 34.5. 

Brown, Ueorne N., 176. 

Brown, Jacob, 27. 

Brown, Jonas, 22, 26, 29. 

Brown, Joseph K., 342. 

Brown, I>eonard, 183, 332. 429. 

Brown, Reuben, 22, 23, 24, 2."). 

Brown, Samuel W., 306. 

Brown, Thomas, 21, 22. 

Brown, Willard A., .326. 

Brown, Rev. William, 403, 404. 

Brown, Zachariah, 27. 

Brown, Mrs Z., 28. 

Brown A Morey, 429. 

Brownell, George, 287, 294. 

Buckeridse, Bishop, 224. 

Bullock, Gov., 90. 

Burbank. Pro!., 44. 

Burgess, Thomas F., 92. 

Burnham, Philetus, 167. 

Butler, Gen.. 102, 174, 175, 179, 191. 197. 278, 

346. 
Butler, Jfisiah, .")5. 
Buttertield, ('apt. Benjamin, 134. 
Buttrick, John, 26. 
Buttrick, Jonas, 25. 
Buttrick, Jonathan, 32. 
Buttrick, Joseph, 32. 
Byam, Amos, 2.50. 

By-Laws of Lowell Historical Society, 459. 
By-Laws, Rep. of Com. on, 416-4.57. 

Cady, William R., 83. 

Calhoun, Rev. Soltan F., 209. 

Cardell, E. L.,2r2. 

Carney, J. G., 151. 

Carpenter, Elienezer, 13. 

Carpenter, ISIinerva A., 13. 

Chamberlain, Capt. Isaac, 2,35. 

Chamberlain. James A., 294. 

Chaniberlin, Benjamin, 141. 

Chambre, Rev. A. .St. John, D D., 102, 108. 

Champlain, Daniel, 419. 

Chapin, Sam, 36S. 

Chase, Alfred, 53. 

Chase, Charles C, 844. 



Chase, Franci.s N., 344. 

Cliase, Frederick A., 344. 

Chase, Ira M.,366. 

Chase, Joseph, 53. 

Chase, Samuel A., .344. 

Chase, William C.,314. 

Cheevei'. Frederick Augustus, 175, 176, 177. 

Chelmsford History of, .58. 

Chelmsford Manufacturing Co., .52, .364. 

Cheney, Cleveland J., 113, 2.59. 

Cheney, George S., 270, 329. 

Chesley, John T., 182, 196, 429. 

Child. Linus. 106. 

Choate, Rufus, 1.58, 401. 

Church, Captain. 421. 

Church, Henry Cook, 272. 

Citizen, Daily American, 429. 

Clapj), John D., .50. 

Clark, Asa C, 18.3. 

Clark, Miss Eliza Vieth, 246. 

Clark, Jeremiah, 275. 

Clark. John, 11. 

Clark, Jonas, 142, 144, 147. 

Clark, Rev. Dr., 96. 

Coburn, Charles B., 81. 

Cuburn, Charles H., 102. 

Coburn, C. B. & Co., 310. 

Coburn. Edward F., 331. 

Coburn, Franklin, 250. 

Coliurn, Jephtha, 50. 

CoUmrn, Warren, 11,104,105. 281. 287, 289, 

290, 297, 298, 299, 300, 303. 
Colby, (ieoree J. L., 176. 
Colby, John S., 185, 205. 
Collins, David M., 11, 79. 
Collins, Michael, .53. 
Colonial Dames, 400, 401, 404, 406, 407, 425, 

426. 
Conant, Abel E., 77. 

Concord Free Public T^ibrary, Gift of, 162. 
Concord & Lexington, April 19, 1775, 

Paper on, 19-32. 
Contents, Table of. Vols. I-VI. 471. 
Contributions (See Donations.) 
Conway, Lord, 378. 
Cook-, David, 294. 
Cooper, Eli, 294. 
Cooper, Isaac. 368. 
Cooper, William 11., 270. 
Corey William, 338. 
Cornock, Edwin,. 367. 
Court Collection of Books, 218. 
Court, Joseph A., 210. 
Court, Rev. Robert, D. D., 207, 52". 
Cousens, O. M., 102. 
Cowles, Miss Martha A., 344. 



484 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Cowley, Charles, 0(1, 10 J, 1(52, 328, 351, 407, 

409, 410, 412, 414, 425. 
Craie, Rev. .Tames M.. 2i)0. 
Ci-eigiilon, Klglit Hex. Mansell, 223. 
Crevler, Christopher, 420. 
Cres'ier, Jean, 420, 421, 422. 
Crevier, Jeanne, 420. 
Crevler, .Joseph, 422. 
Crocker, .Mrs. .Sarah H., 40 >. 
Cromwell, Oliver, 381. 
Crosby, Prof.,;i:-!. 
Crowley, Hon. .Jeremiah, 803. 
Crowley, Timothy A., Esq., 3(33. 
Cummings, Mrs., 4'J3. 
Cumnock, A. G., 351. 
Curnick, E. T.,27(). 
Currier, Jacob 15., 851. 
Currier, Moody, 14!t. 
Curtis, Miss Harriet F., 200. 
Cushing, Col., 2^'4. 
Cushing, George S., 14. 
Cushing, Miss, 403. 
Cushing, Sheriff, 346. 

Dalfon, Charles H. 11. 

Daltou, Mrs. Henry R., 402. 

Dalton, Dr. John C, 322. 

Dana, Dr. S. L., 308. 

Danforth, .Solomon, 260. 

Dan kers, Jasper, 230. 

Davis, .Asahel, 32ii. 

Davis, .v. A., 103. 

Davis, Elisha.5(>, 81. 

Davis, John. 372. 

Davis, .Johnson. 247. 

Davis, Moses, 142, 24.5. 

Davis, .Sidney, 140, 147, 227. 386. 

Davis, William, 2iM. 

Dean, Daniel H., 328. 

Dean & Barnes, 328. 

Deane, Rev. Samuel, 0i>. 

Demi>sey, Patrick, lit2. 

DeXormandie, Rev. James, 232. 

Dimon, Hon. Charles A. R , 102, 373, 412. 

Dixon, Rev. Sarah A., 403. 

Dodge, .\lleu, 424. 

Do l«re, Joseph M., 21)4. 

Dodge, Luke C, 87. 

Donations to .Association, 1(5, 94, 166, 266, 

323, 3.!(!, 356. 
Donovan, John J., 102. 
Douglas, Prof. (JeorgeC. X., 211. 
Drew, Charles W., 343. 
Drew, Tart & Welch, 343. 
Druillette.s, Fr. Gabriel, 227. 
Dudley, (Jov. Thomas, 381. 
Dugdale, .James, 341. 



Dunlevy, :Mrs. Harriet, 200. 
Duraut, Heury F., 174. 
Dustin, Hannah, 399. 
Duttou. Warren, 65, 104. 

Eagle Mill, 52. 

Earle, Alice Morse, 241. 

Early Newspapers of Lowell, 437, 440, 441. 

Eastman, Miss, 149. 

Eaton, Mrs. Joseph G., 403. 

Eddy, Rev. Dr., 152. 

Edson, Rev. Theodore, 11, 217, 287. 

Edward.s, Benjamin, 134. 

Edwards, Jabez, 10. 

Eliot, Bennett, 220. 

Eliot Church in Lowell, 220, 233. 

Eliot, Dr. Ellsworth, 220, 231. 

Eliot. James, 221. 

Eliot, Re V. John, 220, 222, 382, 390, 394, 396, 407. 

Eliot, Lette.ve Aggar, 220. 

Eliot, Memorial Window to, in Loudon. 

232. 
Eliotj Philip, 221. 
illiot, Sarah, 220. 
Eliot Worli at Wamesit, Paper ou, 220, 

233. 
Ellingwood, John, 90. 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 302. 
Emerson, Rodney, 180. 
Emery, Enoch, 183, 198. 
Emery, George, 327. 
Emery, Ma.j. Henry, 198. 
Emery, James, 241. 
Emery, /achariah, 241, 
Eudicott, Gov. John, 384. 
Endicott, Rock, 381, 385. 
Ernst, .Airs. Harold C., 403. 
Evered, John, ,386. 
Everett, Edward, 26. 
E.xley, Joseph, 72. 

Faergroves, George \V., 366. 

Farley, Miss Harriet, 200. 

Farnsworth, Ezra, 64. 

Farr, .\sa W.,193. 

Faner. Prof., 301. 

Fascutt, Peter, 135. 

Feckharm, Samuel, 279, 286. 

Fellows, James K., 180. 

Fels, Augu.st, 53. 

P'ield, Darby, 382. 

Fire Companies, 2.53, 256. 

Fisher, Samuel, 294. 

Fiske, Rev. John, 221, 223, 398, 899. 

Fiske, Sheriff, .346. 

Fitten, James, 51. 

FJetcher, Betsy, 247. 

Fletcher, Eleazer, 310. 



INDEX. 



485 



Fletcher, Edmund Dix, oW. 

f'letcher, Esther, 236. 

Fletcher, Henry, 247. 

Fietclier, Joshua, l;?5. 

Fletcher, ('ol. .losiah, 58, tin. 

Fletcher. .Justice Oliver, 149. lMS. 

Fletcher, Robert, 142. 

Fletcher, Saruh, 247. 

Folks at Xeck in ye Olden Time. Papei- 

on.234-2.=jl. 
Folsoin, .Tonathan P., lo, 150. 
Ford, Elisha, 2it4. 
Francis, Col. James B. 89, 112. 10$, 259, :!11. 

329, 3S5. 
French, B. F., SOH. 
French, Cyril. ISO. 
French, Josiah B., 5>^. 60. 
Fronteuac, 420. 
Frye, Frederick, 277. 
Frye, Ira, 2SI). 
Frye. Judge. MH. 
Fuller, Jason, 42, 48. 

Gage, Daniel. .'iOO. 

Garner, Edward, 169. 

Garnet, Joseph, 51. 

Gates, Josiah A Sons, 810. 

Gates, Noah F. 197. 

Gates. Sarah L. 160. 

Gealogy, Paper on local, 83-45. 

Gibb & Conaut, 78. 

GitTord, James, 90. 

Gilchrist. Margaret, 210. 

Giles. Rev. Henry. 801. 

Gill, Judge Charles, 427. 

Gill, Samuel, 428. 

Gillis, Catharine, 124. 

Gillis, Josiah, 124. 

(tiIHs. Mary S., 124. 

Gilman, Alfred, 12. 

Gilmore, Patrick .S., 93. 

Gilmore, William, 68. 

Goddard Sam B., 291. 

(ioodell. Hon. Abner C, 898, 404. 

(ioodwiu, Hon. John A., 18), 204, 240, .882, 

480. 
Goodwin, Joseph B., .868. 
Goodwin, William B., 204. 
Gookin, Gen. Daniel, KiO. 229, 281,886.388, 

890, 89i, 398, 896. 
Gordon, Rev. Peter, 208. 
Goulding, John, 59, 60. 
Graves, John W., 180. 
Greeley, Horace, 158. 
Green. Dr. John ( >., 21, 257. 873. 
Green, Dr. Samuel A., 219, 229, 402. 



Greene, Rev. John M., D.D., 218, 217,280, 

275, 412. 
Greene, Tribute to Dr. Court by Rev. John 

M.,D.D., 218,215. 
Greenhalge, Gov., 102, 481. 
Guillet, Joseph H., 408, 419. 

Iladley, Judge Samuel P., .851, 407, 414. 

Hale, liernice S., 55. 

Hale, Ezekiel, 50, 5!, ,55. 

Hale, E. J. M., J58. 

Hale, Mrs. George S., 402. 

Hale, Moses, 50, 65. 

Hale, Perley, 55. 

Hale's Mills, .5.5. 

Hall, D. C.,93. 

Hancock, Gov. .Iohn.247. 

Hancock, Rev. .John, 247. 

Hardy, Aaron, 50. 

Hartshorn, Edward, 340. 

Hart, Rufus, .341. 

Hart, Osgood ct,841. 

Hastings, Walter, 58. 

Hayes, Jonathan F. C, 170, 181, 195. 

Hayes Joseph R.,80. 

Hayley, Rev. J. W., 217. 

Hay ward James, 26. 

Hayward, Josejih, 24. 

Hazen. Carlos, 80. 

Heald, MaJ. p:phraim, 29. 

Heald, Hannah, 29. 

Heald, John, 29. 

Hedrick, George, 85. 

Henchman, Capt , 893. 

Hill, Benjamin C , 78. 

Hill, Charles H., 187. 

Hill, Isaac, 188, 429. 

Hill, Martha, 247. 

Hill, Paul, 89, 114. 

Hills, George D., 27.8. 

Hildreth, Fisher .\., 8(1, 181, 197. 

Hilton, Captain, 485. 

Hinckley, Isaac, 106, HI. 

Hinckley, Capt. Wallace, 106. 

Hinchman. Maj. Thomas, 126, 129, 873, .39-8. 

Hitchcock, Prof., 88. 

Hoar, Hon. George F., 270. 

Hoitt, Trueworthy, 191. 

Holden, Artemas, 91. 

Hf)lden, Daniel, 52. 

Holden, Frederick A., 90. 

Holmes, O. W., 98. 

Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 221, 224. 

Hopkins, James, 86. 

Horn, Samuel, 274. 

Home, Daniel W.. 369. 

Horsford, Prof., 876. 



486 



OLD RESIDENTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



HoBford, Hocuni, 882, 341, 8-15. 

How, Win., 47, 48. 

Howard, Benjamin, 247. 

Howard, Horace, 871. 

Howard, Jacob, 216. 

Howard, James, 371. 

Howard, Martha, 247. 

Howard, Rachel, 243. 

Howe, Edward B., 839. 

Howe, HarrlKou G., 64. 

Howe, Wlnthrop, (i4. 

Hubbard, Elder John D., 209, 217. 

Hughes, John, 72. 

Hunt, .Samuel, 145. 

Huntington, Dr., 311. 

Hurd, Thomas, 61, 62. 

Huse, Harry V., 185, 186, 187, 206. 

Huse, Stephen \V., 200. 

Illustrations, List of. Vols. I-VI, 4S0. 

Jackson, Dr. C. F., 301,302. 
Jackson, General, 828. 
Jackson, Patrick T., 66. 
Jacobs, H. M., 102. 
Jaques, Mrs. Adella S., 261. 
Jaijues, John S., 261. 
Janues, Mrs. Nancy C, 261. 

Jenkins, , .'i81. 

Johnson, Benjamin F., 194. 
Johnson, Captain Edward, 884. 
Johnson, Miss Hannah A., 194. 
Joy, A. Bruce, 111. 
Judklufi, J. J., 192,484. 

Reach, A. K., 188. 

Kenipsey, Adelia S., 261. 

Kershaw, Abraham, 84. 

Keyes, Daniel, 243. 

Keyes, Solomon, 135, 186, 137, 286. 

Kidder, Samuel, 18. 

Kidder, Enoch, M.5. 

King Philip's War 

421, 425. 
King William's Wa 
Klttredge, Dr., 244. 
Knapp, Hon. Cluiuncy L., 277, 332. 
Knowles, John A., 60. 
Knowles, Jonathan, 60, 61. 
Ki' -^wlton, J. S. C. 287. 

Ladd, Luther ('., 9(i. 

Lamb, Miss Hose E., 402. 

Lamson, William, Jr., 263. 

Lang, Blckford, ]5. 

Last of HacheiuH of Merrimack River 

Indians, 376-427. 
I^aud, Archbishop of Canterbury, 224. 



126, 292, 892, .895, 413, 
396, 398, 422, 485. 



Laurent, Chief Joseph, 408, 408, 410, 424, 425. 

Lauzon, Francis, 419. 

Law, James, 64. 

Lawrence, Abbott, 168, 298. 

LawHon, Hon. Peter, 72, 73, 74. 

LawKon, Thomas B., .322. 

Lawton, Hon. Frederick, 279, 851, 457. 

LeBretton, Edward, 11. 

Lee, Col. Jeremiah, 28. 

Lemaitr*, Madame, 427. 

Leonard, Ira, 271. 

Leslie, Edwin C, 12. 

Letter on Fiftieth Anniversary of Lowell, 

78. 
Lewis, Joel, 294. 
Le.xington, Concord &, 19. 
Libby, Oliver A., 410. 
Library, Public, of Boston, 112. 
Lincoln, Countess of, 881. 
Lincoln, Gov. Levi, 279. 
Lincoln, President, ,868. 
Literary Adelphi, 303. 
IJvermore, Judge, 6^ 
Livingston, Ephraim D., 4,80. 
Livingston, William, 180. 
Local Geology, Paper on, 88, 45. 
Locke, George E., 195. 
Lockwood, Rev. J. T., 281. 
Loom, Before the power, 46-74. 
Lord, Henry A., 860. 
Lovett, Capt. Christopher, 377. 
Love well, Capt. John, 1,87. 
Lowell Choral Society, 865. 
Lowell Five Cent .Savings Bank, 864. 
Lowell, Francis C, 67. 
Lowell Historical Society, Proceedings of 

Incorporation, 468. 
Lowell Institute, 808. 
Lowell Ijyceum, 808. 
Lowell Manufacturing Co., 72, 73. 
Lurtlam, Joseph S., 11. 

Mail, Lowell Morning, 480. 

iManning, Warren H., .88.5. 

Manning, William, 24.5. 

Mansur, Joseph W., 60, 66. 

Marden, (jeorge A., 184, 347. 

Marsiiall, James, 250. 

Marshall, Rufus, 250. 

Marshall, Samuel, 285. 

Marston, George H., 424. 

Martin, Franklin, 827. 

Marvel, Caleb M.,294. 

Masons' Hall, 2S0. 

Mass. Char. Mech. Association, 2S4. 

Massasoit, ,876, 408, 421. 

Mather, Rev. Cotton, 228, 4.8.5, 



INDEX. 



487 



Maxfleld, Riifus, 1(JS. 
MoAlvin, John H., 202, 26!5. 
McAithur, William, 387. 
McEvoy. Hugh, 12. 
McPhetres. .Samuel A., 201. 
Mecliauios" I'halanx, 280. 
Merrill, Elizabeth, 2;i(). 
Merrill, Joshua, 141), 'ZVH. 
Merrill, Otis U., 1-11». 
Merrill, S. N., 1,S2. 
Merrimack Manufucturiug Co., 71. 
Merrimaeli Woolen Mill, TiS, ;!64. 
Middlesex ^Slechuuics' Association, His- 
torical .Sketch of, 279-:;22. 
Middleton, Kobert, .')2. 
Miles, Kev. Henry A., 65, 16'.'. 
Miner, Dr.,4;U. 
Mitchell, Charlotte, 40:!. 
Mitchell, Melinda, 40:!. 
Mixer, Augustus, 21ti. 
Mixer, Elijah, 157. 
Mixer, John, 294. 
Mixer, Pitman it Co., 82. 
Mixer & Whittemore, 82. 
Moody, Paul, 65, 71, 104, 280. 
Moody .School, 15!. 
Montaigne, Hishop, 224. 
Montgomery, Charles H., 419. 
Moor, Lieut. Jo.seph, 24.S. 
Morey, George F., I8<, 332. 
Morrell, Cliarles, 339. 
Morse, Isaac .S. , 370. 
Morton, Hon. Levi P., 13. 
Morton, Thomas, .379. 
Moseley, Capt., 392. 

Naamcook, 130. 
Nano m oco m u c k , .3S(i. 
Neal, Rev. Daniel, 22 >. 
Nesmith, John, .52. 
Nesmith, Thomas, .52. 
News)Mipers, Early, 437, 44(1. 441. 
Niles, Daniel M.,3(i9. 
Miles, Thomas, 3()9. 
>'orris, (ieorge W'., 169. 
North, 8. N. D., 314. 
Noyes, Person, 36(1. 

O'Brien, Rev. Michael, 102, 103. 

Offut, George F., ,366. 

OfTut & Pierce, .366. 

Oglethorpe, Gov., 400. 

Oldest Native Born Citizen of Lowell, 91. 

Oliver, Barron, 237. 

Orange, Henry S., 83. 

Orange, Wright A Co., S4. 

Orange A Eastman, .84. 

Origin of Lowell. 6'i, 66. 



Page. Frank J., 369. 
Palfrey, John ('., 11. 
Parker, Benjamin, l.U, 143, 2.36, 2 17, 241, 242^ 

243. 
Parker, Capt. Ebenezer, 237, 247. 
I'arker, Mrs. 1-rank O., 402. 
Parker, Granville, 174. 
Parker, Henry E., 143, 237. 
Parker, Jacob, 23(). 
Parker, Philip, 134, 2.:G. 
Parker, Sarah, 236. 
Parker, Tabitha, 236. 
Parkhurst, (Hiver, 250. 

ParkniJin, . 137. 

Parkman, Francis, 401. 

l'assa<-onaway, 228, 376, 379. 3S0, 3.82, 383, .3.84, 

.387. 

Patten, Joseph .\., 169. 

Patterson, Ex-.Senator, 259. 

Patterson, Gen., 330. 

Patterson, (George W., 259. 

Pealjody, Josiah G., 63, 272. 

Pearson, John, 53. 

Peirce, Elizabeth, 246. 

Peirce, Joanna, 249. 

Peirce, .loseph, 248. 

Peirce, Mary, 248. 

Peirce, Robert, 245, 248. 

Peirce, Sarah, 24.5. 

Pitrce, Silas, 246, 249. 

Peirce, Stephen, 243. 

I'eirce, Thankful, 2.50, 251. 

Peirce, William, 246. 

J'epln, Mrs. W. IL, 219. 

Perry, Prof., 44. 

I'hips, .Spencer. Esi]., 145. 

Phips, Report by, on Wamesit Purchase. 

145. 
Pierce, Gen. Benjamin, 235. 
Pierce, President Franklin, 235. 
Pierce, Robert, 235. 
Pierce, .Silas, 147. 

Pierce, Deacon Stephen, 144, 235, 2.36. 
Pillsbury, Harlin, 52. 
Pillsbury, John, 180, 277. 
Place, Isaac, 1.83. 
Pollard, A. G. & Co., 341. 
Pooler, Amasa, 152. 

Pooler, Deacon Seth, Memoir of, 148-154. 
Porter, Rev. Lemuel, 248. 
Potter, Judge, 394, :;97. 
Power Loom, Before the, 46-74. 
I'owers, Mr.s., 28. 
Powual, Gov., 248. 
Prescott Bank, 361. 
Prescott, Charles W., 377. 
Presbyterian Church, First, 209. 



488 



OLD RESIDEISTS HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 



I'reseott, Dr. Oliver, '2^4. 

Prescott, Col. Willhuu, -lU. 

Priuce, John D., 104. 

Proctor, Daniel, 141. 

Public Momiineuts of Lowell, ilti. 

LatUl A- Whitney Culumn. (M! 

Memorial Hall. 102, U)4. 

f^tatueof Victory, 100. 
Puffer, Asahel D. , ;!()2. 
Puffer, xV. D. & Son, ;i()2. 
I'utuey, John, 12. 



Ranlett, Xewell A., 32i). 
Rea, Mis.s Harriette, :!:i-40!j. 
Reed, Elijah M., :i72. 
Reed, Ransom, 840. 
Report of Committee on liy-Laws, Uti 
Report of President for lS).i-l,sn4, 7-)S 
Report of President for lS!)4-lS!)i, 7o-i). 
Report of President for ISiKS-lSdO, 257- 
Report of President for lS!)6-lSi)7, 105- 
Report of Pre-;ident for l.Si)7-ISi)S, 2t>i) 
Report of President for ISitS-lSim, 823- 
Report of President for lS!ii»-ii)oa, 88,5- 
Report of President for 1900-1901, 855 
Report of President for 1901-1902, 3(;2- 
Reservation, Indian, 4('. 
Revere, Paul, 22, 284. 
Rice, .Mica;ah, 279, 2S(). 
Richards, .Tohn, 1(57. 
Richards, Luther, 8S. 
Richardson, C. II., 108. 
Richardson, Daniel S., 2J(), 264. 
Richardson, G. F., 872. 
Richardson, .lonathan, 144. 
Richardson, Lafayette, HW). 

Richardson. Oliver A., .59, 260. 

Richardson, .ludse William A., 2.S6. 

Richardson, Zachariah, 141, 247. 

RichTuond. P. O., 51. 

Ripley, Rex. Ezra, 15(i. 

Rix, Mrs. Mary E., 124. 

Robliins, .Jacob, 192. 

Robertson, Rev. J. L., 209. 

Rodliff, Ferdinand, .'587. 

Roe, -Vlfred C., 209. 

Rogers, ,]ohn, 145. 

Rollins, Cyrus T. K., 291. 

Rollins, Pliny, 859. 

Rowell, Edward T., 1S4, 847. 

Runels, Clou{{li & Co., 9H. 

Runnawit, 880. 

Russell, Cyrus King, .828. 

Russell, ('apt. .lames, 294. 

Russell, .lames .S., 149. 

Russell, Joseph L., 208. 



Russell, .S. 8. A- Co., 329. 
Russell, William, 828. 

St. Castln, Baron, 420. 

Sargent, Edward M., 859. 

Savage, James, 380. 

Sawyer, Alfred P., 351, 358, 428, 446. 

Sawyer, Wesley, 52, 53. 

Scott, Sir Walter, 4U0. 

Scrlbner, (ieorge F., 262. 

Scripture, Isaac, 81. 

Seaver, William, 168. 

Sewell, Judge, 140. 

Shattuck, .Moses, l-V. 

Shaw, Miss Charlotte A., 482. 

Shedd, Freeman B., 103. 

Shepard, Miss Sarah, 807. 
II, 446. Shepjjard, Bruce, 297. 

Sheridan, (ien., .'J76. 
5. ShiUaber, Benjamin P., 185. 

2()5. Slinonds, John, 12. 

171. Simonds, Samuel B., 11. 

278. Simpson, Mrs. Mary L., 84. 

■834. Sinfonia Society, 86.5. 

348. Skinner, Deborah, 71. 

861. Slater Cotton Centennial, 1890, 68. 

375. Slater, Samuel, 67. 

Sluyter, Peter, 280. 

Smith, Charles, 286, 297. 

Smith, E. A., 185. 

Smith, Capt, John, 878. 

Smith, i:)r. Norman, 22. 

Society, American Antiquarian, Worces 
ter, 449. 

Society of Antiiiuity, Worcester, 449. 

Society, Cape .-Vnn. of Gloucester, 462. 

Society, Cape Cod Historical. Yarmouth, 
4,54. 

Society, Connecticut N'alley Historical, 
Siiringfield, 454. 

Society, Dedhain Historical, 451. 

Society, Dorchester Historical, 452. 

.Society, Ipswich Association, 4,50. 

Society, Lowell Historic.-tl, 45S. 

Society, I^owell Historical, J^y-Lawsof, 459. 
Acceptance of and Certilicate of In- 
corporation, 1902, 468. 

Societj', Lynn Historical, 4,50. 

Society. Massachusetts Historical, 449. 

.Society, New Englan<l Historic Genea- 
logical, 449. 

Society, Oak Tree Association, Charle- 
mont, 4,54. 

Society, Old Colony Historical, Taunton' 
4,54. 

Society, Old Residents' Historical. 4,^8. 

Society, Rhode Island Historical, 450. 



INDEX. 



489 



Society. Iluiiilbrd Historical, \\'ol)urn, 450. 
Society, Welisler Historical, Murslitleld, 

Society, Worcester County Historical, 454. 

JSokokis, -121. 

Solger, I)r.,H02. 

Southiwick, Uoyal, 72, 294. 

Soutliwortli, Royal, 52. 

SoutLiwortli, Win. A., 108 

Spankiing, Andrew, 130. 

Spaulding, Dea. Ephraini, 244, 247. 

Spankiing-, Epa, 243. 

Spaulding, Lieut. Jona, 247. 

Spaulding, Lieut. Jonatlian, 227. 

Spaulding, Lucy, 246. 

Spaulding, Alioah, 134. 

Spinning W'beeL fii), 70. 

Stanley, Artemas, 50. 

Stanley, Dean, 220. 

Stanley, .labez, .50. 

Stanley, Phineas. 11. 

Stanley, Sewell , .50. 

Stanley, Sylvan, -50. 

Stanley, Woodward, 50. 

Stevens, < ieorge, .343, 370. 

Stevens, (George Hurter, 343. 

Stevens, .1. Tyler. 371. 

Stevens, Solon W., Annual Reports by, 

7, 75, l(i5, 2)7, 2(;ti, 323, 335, 351, 865, 302, 
400, 410. 

Stickney, F. W., 104. 

Stickney, .Samuel AV., .364. 

Stoddard, Samson, 242. 

Stone, Baclieller & Livingston. 4,30. 

Stone Bequest to O. R. H. Association of 

Lowell, 436. 
Stone, Mrs. Charlotte A., 432. 
Stone, Mrs. Hadassah, 428. 
Stone, .James M., 172, 177, 179, 180. 188. 
Stone, .Joel, .Jr., 29.5. 
Stone, Luther, 428. 
Stone, Simon, 434, 436. 
Stone. .'<yniond, 434. 
Stone, Zina E., 40-172, 183, 185, 200, .338, 428. 

442, 447 ; Paper on, 428-437. 
Stott, Charles, ,51, 64. 
Stott, Hon. Charles A., 64, 102,351. 
Stott, Fitten & Garnett, 51. 
Street, Dr., 37. 

Streeter, Leander K.. l>-3, 1!I9. 
Stuart, Miss Ruth, 193. 
Swan, Daniel, 196. 
Swan, ,Joshua, .58,294. 
Sweatt, John, 51. 

Talbot, (tov., 111. 
Talbott, Peter, 135. 



Tarbell, .Mrs. G. (t.,263. 

Thompson, Aaron .S., 1,87. 

Thompson, Lieut. Edward W., 102. 

Thompson, Sir William, 210. 

Thurston, Rev. Xalhauiel, kSO, 197. 

Ticolomichi, 399. 

Tilton, Nancy C, 261. 

Times, Lowell Morning, 431. 

Tinker, John, 386. 

Tolmim, George, 32. 

Topi>an, Elizabeth, 3,39. 

Treat, James A., 291. 

Tripp, John L., 291. 

Trueworthy, James H., 360. 

Tuckerman, Mrs., 403. 

Tudor, Mrs. William, 402. 

Tuttle, Sally, 1.56. 

Tweed, Col. Tiiuot hy ,s., 82. 

Tyler, Artemas S., ,"4, 364. 

Tyler, Fanny, 364. 

Tyler, Jonathan, 371. 

Tyler, Nathan, .59, 6,5. 

Tyler, Sllae, 53, .364. 

Tyndale, William, 217. 

Tyng, Dudley A., 402. 

Tyng, Eleazer, 399, 401. 

Tyng, Col. Jonathan, 126, 393, 395, 398 .399, 

402, 404, 405; Deed of Wamesit Pur- 

chase from, 126-129. 

Ulstermen,207, 210. 
Upton, Henry, 167. 
Upton, Joseph S., 169. 

Varney, Hildreth .V-, 429. 

Varney, Mary J. Place, 190. 

Varney. Ruth Stuart, 10.!. 

Varney, Samuel J., 175, 177, 179, 180, 182, 190. 

195, 197, 203, 206, 429, 430. 
Varunm, Atkinson C, 170. 
Varuum, Gen. Josejih B., 57. 
Varuum, Samuel, 170. 
Varnum's Landing, -"14. 
Vox Populi, 1S11-1S96, 172-206, 429. 

Wackenfeldt, Ciustavus D., 52. 

Wamesit Purchase, 125. 

Waunalancet, 130, 228, 231, .376, .379, .382,886, 
386, 390, 393, 39,S, 404, 412, 422. 

Waunalancet, Memorial Tablet to, 401-409. 

Waldo, Cornelius, 135. 

Waldo, Daniel, 47. 

Walker, Abigail, 121. 

Walker, Ben.jamin, 121, 1.55, 16.5, 168; Bio- 
graphical Sketch of, 121-124. 

Walker, Benjamin, Sr., 121. 

Walker, Catherine, 124. 

Walker, Miss :Mary C., 121. 



490 



OLD RESIDEjNTS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIO^^ 



Walker, Capt. Rlcbarcl, ]21. 
Walker, Samson, 2'A). 
Warreu, Berry i- Park, 51. 
Warreu, Joseph, 246. 
Warren, Mrs., (i.5. 
Ward, Dr. Sullivan, 87. 
Ward, William H.,;>72. 
Washburn, Emery, 11. 
Washington, Athenaeum, 30.S. 
\\'aterhouse, James, 52. 
Watson, Col. B. K., 111. . 
Watson, EdM-ard K., 809, 872. 
Watson, James, 201. 
Webster, Daniel, 15S, 822, 40.5. 
Webster, Fletcher, Escj., 802. 
Webster, George, 8()7. 
Weetamoo, .'i7'J. 
Welch, \VillardC.,it2. 
Wendell, Mrs. Barrett, 402. 
Wentworth. Tappau, 100, 182, 183. 
Wheelwright, Rev. John, 880. 
Whipple, Oliver M., 55, 8s, 108, 227, 301. 
Whltefleld, Rev. George, 899, 402, 426. 
Whiting. Capt. Pliineas, .58, 65. 
Wliitney, Addison ().,!)«. 
Whitney, George T., 271. 
Whittaker, David, 881, 8(i(). 
Whittaker, Samuel, 51. 
Whittier, John G., 344, 379, .384, 400. 
Whittler, Miss, 315. 

Wickasauke Island, -SSii, 393. 
Willard, Simon, 225, 884. 
Wilson, Claudius, 72. 
Wilson, Rev. John, 222, 229. 
WiUson. William B.,72. 



Wilson, W. W.,72. 

Winnepurket, 379. 

Winslow, Col., 240. 

WinsloNV, Mrs. Sarah, 401. 

Wlntlirop, ( ;ov., 129, 222, 379. 

W'inthrop, John, 222. 

Wlnthrop, Mrs. .Margaret, 129, 222. 

Winthrop, Robert C, 1.58. 

AVitney Mill, .52. 

Wood, Horatio, Jr., 865. 

Wood,S. N.,88. 

Woodcock & Meecham, 96. 

M'oods, Edward P., 332. 

Woods, Sherwood A Co., 333. 

Worcester, Josepli K., 18. 

Worcester, Leonard, 12, 13. 

Worthen, Ezra, 11, 104, 105, 257. 

Wriglit, Aaron, 155. 

Wright, Alexander, 72, 806. 

Wright, Edward, 155. 

Wright, Elizabeth, 155. 

Wright, Emeline Gates, 157. 

Wright, Hapgood, I.ife & Businees Career 

of, 155, 264. 
Wright, Hepsibah (Merriam), 166 
AVriglit, Nathan M., 156. 
^^'^ight, Nathaniel, 179. 
Wright, Sally T., 156. 
Wright, Sarah L., IGO. 
Wright, Walter, 294, 308. 
Wyman, Prof., 302. 

Young, Artemas, 51. 
Young, Artemas s., 52. 
Y'oung, Charles H., 52. 
Y'oung, Darius, 61. 



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